When it comes to sports, I’m loyal to my teams. Recently I had a conversation with a sales associate at a men’s clothing store about professional football. In the course of the conversation he tried to get me to renounce my Dallas Cowboys and become a fan of his Atlanta Falcons. He wanted me to change my loyalties and associate myself with a new team, complete with the jersey and hat.
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:37, 38 NKJV)
At Pentecost, Peter delivers a message urging the crowd to renounce their way of living and live for Jesus instead. The message is so compelling they ask what they should do. Peter says repent (change your minds, attitudes, and habits) and be baptized (publicly affirm your faith in Jesus). He’s basically saying “Change to Team Jesus. Then wear the jersey and the hat.”
Lets be honest; we are all loyal to thoughts, attitudes, and habits that are not like Jesus. In those areas we are fans of Team Self and Team Sin. Neither of those teams will win in the end. We may resist the idea of changing to something different when we’re already committed to our way of doing things. But I’m convinced God’s thoughts, attitude, and ways are more fulfilling than any other way.
So here’s my pitch to you: change to Team Jesus. He’s already conquered the enemy, sin, death, hell, and the grave. He always wins for you and has already been declared the winner of the final battle at the end of the world. Go ahead and wear his jersey and hat with pride for all the world to see.
What’s stopping you from changing teams?