Everyone Plays: Your Role Matters in God's Team
A Softball Devotional
In softball, everyone plays. Even in organized leagues, rotation rules often ensure that every player gets time on the field. Shortstop matters. The right fielder matters. The catcher matters. The person batting ninth matters. There's no such thing as a role that doesn't matter.
Here's what's beautiful: every position is different. The shortstop plays differently than the first baseman. The pitcher has a completely different role than the outfielders. But all the roles together create a team. Remove one position and the team falls apart. You need the weird kid who plays left field in the third inning just as much as you need your star pitcher.
This teaches something crucial spiritually.
The church is like a softball team. Everyone has a role. Some people are the obvious stars – the talented preachers, the gifted singers, the charismatic leaders. But the church needs every role. It needs the person who quietly prays. It needs the person who does behind-the-scenes work. It needs the person with the gift of hospitality. It needs the person who shows up to serve without needing recognition.
1 Corinthians 12:14-27 says: "Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many... But as it is, God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be?... The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need you!' On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor."
Every part. Every position. Every role. Indispensable.
Romans 12:6-8 says: "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."
Different gifts. Different roles. All needed.
1 Peter 4:10 says: "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."
Serve. Use your gift. Whatever your role is, it matters.
Ephesians 4:11-13 says: "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
All these roles. Building up the body. All necessary.
Tomorrow's Practice: Identify your role on God's team. What's your spiritual position? What gifts has God given you? This week, play your position well. Don't try to be someone else's role. Don't minimize your role because it seems less glamorous than someone else's. Play your position with excellence. Your team needs you exactly where you are.
Reflection Question: Do you understand that your specific role on God's team matters, or do you diminish your contribution because it seems less impressive than other people's roles?