DAY 23

NOT A FAN

NIKKI CATHERINCCHIA, TEACHING PASTOR, THE WOODS CHURCH

Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. Matthew 22:37–38

At the end of the 2024 fiscal year the National Football League generated over $23 billion in annual revenue. You read that right: BILLIONS of dollars. When you start adding in what NFL players make annually through endorsements the dollars surrounding professional football is astronomical. This suggests that the NFL has a solid fan base: people willing to spend their hard-earned money to support their favorite team. However, as a lifelong Detroiter being a die-hard football fan has not always been easy in the Motor City. 

Until recent years our Lions have been consistent in one thing: disappointing their fans. Let’s just be honest, we were the team that had arguably the best running back of all time, Barry Sanders, and we STILL couldn’t pull off the wins. Then in 2021 that all changed when an aggressive, resilient, player-focused, passionate, and unconventional coach found himself as the hope of a city longing for a championship. In the years that have followed Dan Campbell’s arrival, there has been a tangible shift. Every year, as the team has gotten better and better, the fan base has grown to the point that getting a ticket to a Lions game has become a luxury purchase. Bottom line, wins grow your fan base. With the Super Bowl in their sights, all of a sudden the Detroit Lions are America’s team. Talk about a plot twist no one saw coming.

But what about the true fans? The die hard devotees that have cheered for this team all along? Even when they were the first team in NFL history to go 0-16. Wins have a way of shifting the naysayers. Those who aligned their loyalties to winning teams in our losing decades have suddenly jumped on the Detroit Grit train. Wins have also brought on board the newbies, those who don’t even remember all the disappointments. Yet, it’s the ones who have worn Honolulu blue regardless of wins or losses that have been truly devoted to this team. Because true devotion isn’t based on circumstances. It’s based on commitment, a belief that anything is possible, and perseverance in the face of adversity. True devotion doesn’t need the W to be steadfast. This is what separates the fans from the devotees. Fans come and go, while devotees stay.

Ironically, following Jesus is somewhat the same. The fans cheer Jesus on when He is who they want Him to be. Fans worship Jesus when He is giving them what they need at that moment. Fans come to spectate, waiting for Jesus to rack up the W’s for their lives. But at the end of the day when life goes sideways, when the losses start accumulating, when Jesus fails to be who He is expected to be, the fan can simply move on to the next thing that might give them what they want. You see, fans only love the object of their affection as long as that object lives up to their expectations. But that isn’t love at all; that is an emotional attachment which is conditional, circumstantial, and fleeting. This is why Jesus isn’t looking for fans. His desire is not that we would admire Him, be inspired by Him, or look to Him as a means to simply make our lives better. Jesus wants our devotion. He wants our commitment, our loyalty, and our love; regardless of our circumstances. The agape, or unconditional love, He gives us is what He desires in return.

After the day of Pentecost when the Church was born the book of Acts tells us that the early believers were DEVOTED.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42–47

Devotion is what compelled the early church to not just admire what Jesus had done for them, but to continue His ministry. Devotion allowed them to become the vessels the Holy Spirit would work through to bring God’s Kingdom to earth as it is in Heaven. Devotion is the reason they became the spark that ignited a Jesus movement that swept through the known world like wildfire. A devotion that was so attractive to others that DAILY their numbers grew with those surrendering their lives to Jesus. This was not a fleeting emotional response to all they had experienced and witnessed. Not at all. This was a total surrender to the Lord who gave it all for them because they had fallen in love with Him.

The Church today is the legacy of their devotion. You and me and everyone who declares Jesus as their Savior are the beneficiaries of their devotion. Had the early church just been fans of Jesus, Christianity would have died before it ever became a flame. And let me tell you, their circumstances were not great. These faithful followers who devoted their lives to their Savior faced adversity every step of the way. Persecution, displacement, and martyrdom became their norms. Circumstantially, following Jesus brought them far more losses than wins. Yet, their devotion kept their eyes fixed on Jesus and the ultimate win was growing His Church regardless of the personal cost. Their commitment, faith, perseverance, and love is now on display for all of us to see. We are the living proof of it.

Isn’t it ironic that Dan Campbell, a player on the 0-16 Lions,has now become the coach of the most successful Lions team in franchise history. Where so many saw problems, he saw possibility and had the courage to pursue it. With no expectations of ease and no guarantees for success he simply had a heart to pursue the goal. 

That is what being devoted to something looks like and in context, we are just talking about an insignificant game. How much more could God do in and through us if we had that kind of devotion for Him? Devoted to His plan and His purposes. Committed to His kingdom, complete faith in Him, willing to endure and persevere, because our love for Jesus is not fleeting but steadfast. Make no mistake, God is calling us to follow in the footsteps of those who have come before us. To be so devoted to Jesus that the Holy Spirit would use us to draw the lost and broken to the Savior of the world in this generation. To be people who will remain steadfast in our love for Jesus regardless of our wins and losses. Assured that in the losses He will strengthen and comfort us. Overjoyed that He celebrates every win with us. Confident that in it all we are livingfor something so much greater than ourselves. We are living forthe Kingdom of God to come to earth as it is in heaven: right here, right now!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, Thank You for showing us what true devotion looks like. Help us not to settle for being fans who cheer when life goes our way, but to be faithful followers who remain steadfast in love for You no matter the wins or losses. Strengthen our hearts with perseverance, fill us with Your Spirit, and let our lives be marked by unwavering commitment to Your Kingdom. May our devotion draw others to You, just as the devotion of the early church changed the world. We give You our loyalty, our trust, and our love, today and always. In Your name we pray. Amen.