Take a deep breath … Can you smell it? The air puts a special swagger in your step … Can you feel it? Today is not any other day. It is GAME DAY! Game day is a special day. Thoughts and feelings rush through your mind as you wait for the game to arrive. I can still feel, hear and see the home crowd at our season opener in basketball as if it was just yesterday. The songs played by the band, the smell of popcorn in the air, the sounds of people moving around, anxiously awaiting for what this year's team will give the crowd. Every player and coach works for one thing: game day. Game day is about preparation mentally and physically for the battle ahead. Game day is here now. Let the game begin!

Rich and I are very competitive friends. We are like brothers in so many ways. We both love to serve and work hard at it. He is in the restaurant industry, and I am in sports ministry. We both serve on the Welcome Team at church and lead small groups. A common phrase when working together is “game on.” This basically means we will do all we can to serve others the best we can.

As servants of Christ, Rich and I both understand that we are to love others as brothers and sisters in Christ, holding them in the highest of regard. This truly becomes evident when we practice these habits with nonbelievers. When we strive to outdo each other in honoring others, this bond will hold any team together whatever problem arises.

Game day is here. Have I lifted enough? Have I practiced enough? Have I worked hard enough to be ready to compete tonight? These are all questions that run through our minds before we take the field of play. As we sit in the locker room readying for battle, the question we have to answer is, “Am I game ready?”