We all know the bandwagon fan. Someone who begins cheering for a team because they are winning or having a good season. They may not know all the facts but they jump on in because who doesn’t want to win, right?
I’ve seen this behavior many different ways in society over the last few years. Like in basketball the flood of fans for Lebron and Golden State, football the Patriots, and baseball the Yankees or Dodgers. Really it’s whoever is winning at the moment. Then onto the next best thing right?
I most recently experienced this myself as a Predators fan when they went further than ever before in the playoffs last year. I have been going to Preds games for several years and have had tickets with our family for the last 7-ish years. We go a lot. Well all of the sudden there were people flooding the cities and bars here in Nashville to root for the Preds. T-shirts and hats selling out. The city lost their minds. You couldn’t go anywhere without seeing Navy and Gold.
I got asked several times if it was annoying that all of these people were now “suddenly” Preds fans. Is it annoying we can’t get into our favorite restaurants before games now? Yes. Is it annoying that the price keeps going up for tickets? Yes. But annoying that there are MORE people cheering for my favorite team now? NO WAY. It’s 10x more fun! We get to chat about the games. We get to have watch parties. The whole city and surrounding suburbs are in on it! It’s a flipping blast. Seriously. Most of the people in this city didn’t just jump on the bandwagon, they became true followers of the team.
In life, how cool is it that we all get to cheer for the team that is always winning? I mean it’s so cool! Whether you’ve been here on God’s team from the beginning, or have just heard about how His love wins every time and hopped on, we’re all here together.
Think about it this way: If I were betting in Vegas, I would put it all on God’s team. There’s no risk/reward type situation because The Bible already tells us who wins. I know personally I don’t want to waste time cheering for the other team when God already tells us who wins at the end of it all.
They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony – Revelation 12:11
TRIUMPHED. Wow, it wasn’t even close you guys. The word literally means “a great victory.”
Here’s the thing though, I don’t want you to be like a bandwagon fan. I’m so happy you’ve hopped on, but I don’t want you to be so easily swayed. A lot of you have read the book not a fan by Kyle Idleman, and know we want to be more than fans. We want to be followers.
I know how hard it can be sometimes, but don’t let something seemingly enticing call you away from who’s winning. If you’ve had a relationship with Jesus before, don’t let someone who claims to be loving or “the church” keep you from coming back. Sometimes our own team members, like a rowdy fan, can do some of the worst damage.
I don’t want you to just commit when it’s convenient to you. I want you to be deeply invested, for your benefit. So often we say, “God you can be here on my time”, but he says, “I’m here for all time.” Don’t take that for granted! Dig in deep, and listen to what God’s purpose is for your love and life. Let’s cheer on each other and let’s cheer on the love and truth from the gospel in this world.
They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings- and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers. – Revelation 17:14
