Fútbol

Yesterday I played soccer for the first time in South America. Really, it´s kind of crazy that I haven´t played yet, given how big it is here. I was invited by a Minnesotan girl that I know, and we ended up playing with a mix of gringos and Chileans. In fact, I was one of four Minnesotans playing! It´s always fun to be able to flaunt my MN pride just a bit. I had a lot of fun for several reasons. First, it was good to get out and play a real sport, something I haven´t really done here yet. Also, inexperienced as I am, I was able to score a goal (probably more correctly an assist). That was pretty fun, and definitely unexpected. I would say it was lucky, but as a famous person recently said, "Luckily, we don´t believe in luck." So it must have been pure skill. More importantly than all that, though, playing soccer is a chance to spend time with people in a real-life (i.e. not in class or some other highly structured situation).

I think this is often a weak point in who I am. Here´s what Jesus said: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39, ESV). Most Christians know this, but I don´t know how many consistently practice it. First off, God should consume us. In a world where idols abound, God should be our supreme passion. We can´t stop there, though--God created us for relationship, not only with Him, but also with others. Just as we should be loving God with all of our heart, we should be pouring out love into our fellow man all the time. This is hard to do. Often it´s uncomfortable to talk to people we don´t know, to open up to people in real friendship, to include others in parts of our lives that would be easier to just do ourselves. There´s a lot of this I´m not used to. Honestly, sometimes I wonder what it practically looks like to love one´s neighbor as oneself. But from the little of it that I´ve done, I know it´s a beautiful thing, and I want that kind of love to absolutely saturate my life.