I'm really not that interested in sports. So why I'm talking about sports in two blog posts in a row, I'm not sure. But here goes.

I played football in seventh and eighth grade, and I hated every minute of it. I hated the pads, the helmet, the mouthpiece, the heat, the running, the drills. But most of all, I hated getting hit. One time, my older brother—who played on the high school football team—hit me so hard the button on my chinstrap broke right off, but that story’s for another day.

During drills and scrimmages (and sometimes even games), I would purposely drop passes to avoid getting hit. I probably wouldn't have caught the ball anyway, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that I was willing to do anything to avoid getting hurt—even if it meant letting my teammates down. The truth is, when it comes to football, I'd rather stand on the sideline where it's safe and watch other people do the dirty work.

My attitude toward my walk with the Lord used to be a lot like my attitude toward football. I spent a lot of time on the sideline, watching all the things that are going wrong in the world, but not doing anything about it. Knowing there are people all around me who haven't heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, but being too afraid to bring it up with them. Like football, it was a whole lot easier to stand by and watch others get their hands dirty.

In Matthew 16:19, Jesus says to Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” As Christians, we, too, hold those keys. We have a message that can impact peoples’ lives for eternity. But that message isn’t going to do us any good from the sideline. I’m tired of being a benchwarmer. I still have a long ways to go, but I’m learning. I’m learning that every time I step out on faith—no matter how uncomfortable it is—God’s always right there to catch me.

I quit football after eighth grade and haven't strapped on a helmet since. I never did get hurt playing football. But I never learned how to properly catch a pass, either. God wants to use our lives, but we won’t see how much he’s capable of doing through us until we’re willing to give up our personal preferences and comforts and get a little dirty. There are plenty of people on the bench; God needs us in the game.