"Dude, you're not even on the team."

My senior year in high school we won the state soccer championship.

We reported for summer practice on a grueling, hot, Kentucky July day.  We did two practices a day for three weeks, beating ourselves into shape and gelling as a team.  Preseason soccer workouts are absolutely horrible, as anyone who has played high-level soccer knows.

We won 21 games that year, but we also had six losses.  We won, we lost, we persevered- we had to pick ourselves up after losses and find out a way to win.  We had a low point where we lost four out of six games- a slump- that we had to fight our way out of.  In the state finals, we met the #1 team in the state, Male High School out of Louisville, who had beaten us on our senior night three weeks before.

At the end of the game, the score was 2-1, us.  We had won.

We began the celebrations immediately.  Our fans stormed the field and surrounded us, shouting and cheering.  I was interviewed by reporters from Lexington and Louisville newspapers.  Cameras were flashing.  People were high-fiving.  The players took the state championship trophy and took a victory lap around the field.

Then we gathered in the goal for a team photo.

Something happened.  A guy that went to our school ran up and got in the picture, saying, "We did it!  We won!"  The rest of us looked at him.

One of the players said, "What are you doing here?"

The guy said, "What do you mean?  It's the team photo!  We won the State Championship!"

The player responded, "Dude, you're not even on the team."

He continued, "We've been busting our butts since July 15.  We did the two-a-days.  We practiced every day after school.  We stayed home on Friday nights and didn't go to the parties.  We slugged it out on the field.  We picked ourselves up after a defeat.  I don't remember seeing you there.  You've been watching from the stands the whole season, while we've been out on the field making it happen."

Then he said, "Get out of the picture.  You don't deserve to be here.  You may like soccer and you may have enjoyed watching us work, but this is not a picture for spectators.  Only the players who were on the team and sacrificed to make this happen deserve to be in this picture."

The guy, who was all smiles the second before, was crushed.  He left sad.

I think my biggest fear in life is that I am that guy.

I read the stories of the apostles in the Bible- stories of Peter and John facing down authorities, being imprisoned and beaten and killed for their faith.  I read stories of Daniel, who would rather be thrown into the lions den than miss one night of prayer with God.  I read stories of Christians in North Korea, who would rather see churches planted and the gospel spread than save their lives.  I read stories of Christians in Pakistan, under threat of death, converting Muslims and preaching Christ, all the while having their property confiscated, their daughters and wives raped, etc.

I'm afraid that when I die and stand before God, I will be that guy.  I'll see the team- the people I just named- gathered and I'll run in, saying, "Yes!  We did it!  Look at all we accomplished for the Kingdom!"

And they will look at me and say, "Dude, you're not even on the team."

They will continue, "You couldn't even wake up for Sunday morning service.  You couldn't even tithe.  You couldn't even share your faith in the workplace because you were afraid of what people would think.  You couldn't even stand up to your kids' coach when he scheduled games on Sunday mornings, and you were at the ball fields on Sunday mornings more than you were in church.  You looked outside on Sunday morning and if it was raining, you didn't go."

"Do you really think we worship the same God?  The God we worshiped while we were alive told us that in order to follow Him, we had to give up everything.  We've been slugging it out in the trenches, planting churches, loving our enemies, fasting, being thrown in prison, seeing our families destitute and starving, enduring persecution, and walking in close fellowship with God."

"You had a choice.  You had more resources than any of us.  You had more money, more time, more education than any of us.  You had freedom of religion- we didn't.  You were free to preach, free to witness, free to do everything the faith required you to do, and you didn't.  You could have been out there on the field with us, but you sat in the stands and watched.  You applauded all the sacrifices and even posted on Facebook when you heard a story of true faith, but in reality, all you were was a spectator.  You never joined the team."

"So get out of the picture.  You don't deserve to be here.  You may like Christianity and enjoy watching us work, but heaven is not for spectators.  Only the ones who surrendered everything and lived for the glory of God deserve to be here."

And I, who was all smiles before, will be crushed.  I will go away sad.

I realize this blog will get me in trouble.  "Dave, you're making heaven all about works.  You're being legalistic.  You're being (insert whatever word you use to describe people who annoy you)."  I get that.  The problem is- Jesus said this would happen.

 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’- Matthew 7:21-23

Jesus looks at all the people and says, "Dude, you're not even on the team."

Except He takes it one step further.  He calls them "evildoers."

I think this will be a terrible day for all the spectators who watched the Body of Christ in action.  I think this will be a terrible day for people who, like that spectator, thought of himself as part of the team.  It wasn't that he had done anything horrible.  It's just that he didn't do what the team did.

In Jesus words, he didn't do the will of His father in heaven.  

I think it is time that the church takes the call of Jesus seriously.  We follow a Savior who called us to come to Him and die.  Yes, literally die.  Die to ourselves and die to worldly passions.  Die to worldly fame and fortune.  Die to ourselves and our goals.  Die to everything that is not of God.  Then begin to live.  Begin to live for the glory of God.  Sacrificing everything, even our own lives- our comfort, our popularity, our time, our money, our energy, our safety- everything.  That's what being a Christian means.  I don't know where we got this other definition of "Christian" as someone who has prayed a prayer and been baptized in a tub of water.  

Christians, realize that one day, you will be standing before the throne of God, and around you on all sides will be people who sacrificed all for the Kingdom.  To your right will be North Korean believers who were sentenced to death for planting churches and spreading the gospel.  To your right will be a pastor who watched his family killed because he refused to give up the names of the people in his congregation.  Behind you will be a person who was imprisoned and tortured under Communist rule and kept his faith in Christ.  In front of you will be a person who converted to Christianity and was killed by her family for embarrassing the family.  

Will you be worthy to stand beside them?

Or will Jesus look at you and say, "Dude, you're not even on the team?"