Coming In Second Place

You hear the phrase, coming in second place, and you can apply it a couple of different ways. It can mean that you have taken "second fiddle" to something else. You may not have been as important. It also applies to the sports arena. When two teams play each other one will come out ahead of the other unless it ends in a tie. Tonight was one of those defining nights for our high school soccer team. They have played well all season and have advanced to the championship game which was to be played tonight. We ended up playing a rival team and lost the game 4-1. It was exciting to cheer for our team and encourage them throughout the game to keep on and guard and block and run the ball and score, but in the end it still wasn't enough to win the game. They came in second place-which is still a great accomplishment! They received a trophy and had the knowledge that they weren't in last place-and a hope that maybe next year they will be able to take first place. As I thought about how you feel as a parent or fan or team member when you finish something in second place, I thought about God and how He must feel when He sees us putting something else in front of Him in our lives. I think if we were honest, all of us at some time or another, have put something ahead of God in our lives. As we live one day at a time thought, our goal should be to not only finish this race, here on earth, that God has place us in, first, but we should strive to keep God first in our lives.

Exodus 20:3

“You shall have no other gods before Me."

Luke 10:27

"And he answering said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

We SHOULD come in second place when it comes to God-He should come before anything else in our lives-deny ourselves. This means we need to humble ourselves. We shouldn't try to be 'numero uno' and the big honcho. It's actually good to be in second place. Let God have control and be number one.

Luke 9:23-24

"Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it."

We are proud of our team and thankful for their dedication throughout the season, their commitment to each other on the team, and their testimonies on and off the field. You did a great job! Hats off to you for coming in second place!