Soccer jerseys and team/country representation is everywhere! With the World Cup happening right now, soccer is the underlying theme of many things that have nothing to do with soccer. Even if you are not a soccer fan or don’t know anything about soccer, you likely know the World Cup is going on. I have seen EMS and hospital t-shirts with soccer references, baseball teams making soccer jerseys with their logo on them, soda cans with World Cup references and giveaways, stores with WC memorabilia, radio and news programs with player and team stories and updates, and on and on it goes.

Soccer, worldwide, seems to get more attention and have more fanatical fans than any sport. Cheering from fans of other sports pales in comparison to soccer fans. Rivaldo, a premier player, was playing for FC Barcelona in 2001. He was either coming or going through the airport, and I happened to be there. All of a sudden, it sounded like the ceiling was caving in. Turns out people were singing and stomping to the team fight song as they shouted his name. People started sprinting through the airport, and I didn’t know whether to run for cover or run with them! As people were singing, chanting, and running in hopes of getting a glimpse of the soccer legend. I was hoping to survive the ordeal! You couldn’t help but get caught up in the joy and excitement that was in the air.

As a believer in Jesus, my mind immediately wondered what it would be like if that were Jesus returning for His people. JESUS — the One who did some things for every single person who ever lived…He created us. And gave us the free will to choose to make Him Lord. And took the punishment for ALL of our sin. And descended to hell because of that sin. But then He busted out of there with His power over hell, and death, and life, and rose again to live forever to show us that through Him we can, too!!! No soccer player, or famous athlete, or politician, or PERSON, nor other god, has EVER done that for their people!

There is a song, I Can Only Imagine, by MercyMe. Some of the lyrics say, “Will I dance for you, Jesus, or in awe of you be still? Will I stand in your presence, or to my knees will I fall, will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all?” In 2004, Steve Harvey was at a conference called MegaFest, where he described how he would introduce Jesus for His second coming. With every line, the people cheered louder and praised harder (if that’s a thing). The hair on your arms stands on end as you watch videos of it, and you realize that despite this crowd of tens of thousands of audience members, there will be no counting the number of saints, past and present, who will be present to see Jesus in that moment. Jesus even gives us His merch to wear as we rep His name and wait on that day…the belt of Truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the readiness of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

What we DO know about that day, as the Lord said, “every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.” (Romans 14:10-12 which quotes Isaiah 45:23 and is stated again by Paul in his letter to the Philippians 2:10-11: “At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth – and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” )

No matter what our celebration and awe of people who come and go on this earth, there will come a day when those celebrations are blown out of the universe. Are you ready? Be on Jesus’s team. He stands ready to welcome you and to bestow on you the crown of life! (James 1:12, Revelation 2:10-11).