Goooooool

Goooooool. There is no other word necessary to understand this June. In some unexplained cosmic anomaly, American television won’t show 90% of the World Cup Soccer matches on any of its free stations. Ah, but hope is not completely gone because the all-Spanish-speaking programming of “Univision” has saved the month. The particulars of language become less important than the passion of the “beautiful game.” (For all non-soccer fans, I am sure that the American football season will start soon enough … hang in there!)

So here is the run-down: spanishspanishspanishspanish … ¡Sì! … spanishspanishspanish … ¡No! … spanishspanishspanish … ¡Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool! The encore “highlights” replayed on the Internet or the 10-second spot on the nightly news simply do not capture the magic of a “real time” goal scored in international play during the world’s most popular, most watched, most fanatical sports tournament on the planet. “¡Goooooool!” is the only word we need to know this summer.

How many hours do these players spend on the pitch (a.k.a. the soccer field) training, conditioning, strategizing, dreaming about making or defending against even one of these goals? How many dollars (or pounds or yen or euros or rubles) are spent in coaches, buses, airfare, or marketing—not to mention some of the highest paid athletes in the world?

Yet, when it really matters … far outside a sports tournament and deep inside the issues of humanity and eternity and spirit and truth … do we even a goal for life? Do we invest hours and dollars into an honest-to-God goal for godliness? Or do we merely burn them—hours and dollars both—without a serious thought toward the goal? What do hope to celebrate in those “rocking chair” years (Lord willing)? I can guarantee that if we aim at nothing, we are sure to hit it every time.

“So whether we are at home or away, we make it our ‘¡goooooool!’ to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience” (2Co 5:9-11).