Gooooooaaaaaallllllllllll! Luke 15-16

Soccer is my sport. I coach it and watch it and study it. I love to develop an game plan against a strong opponent and see players execute and challenge themselves. I would say most people don't like the game because there is so little scoring. Americans like basketball since it has almost 100 points in the game. Of course they have to give "two" points for doing one thing good ... putting the ball in the basket. Two points! Football is worse - you get 6 points for one thing: Crossing the goal line. They even give you an extra point, as if six isn't enough. In soccer you get one point for one goal. No more, no less. And since goals are so seldom scored when you score one the excitement is overwhelming. The famous Latin announcer who first coined the "Gooooooaaaaaallll" phrase when a soccer goal was scored was simply letting out extreme emotion when the back of the net was found by the flying ball. Imagine the excitement he had building up as the ball went in and his team went up. You can't imagine it unless you have been there to experience it. Yet, all that excitement we get from seeing winning goals, baskets, hits or runs scored, doesn't compare to what we read this passage. In Luke 15:7 we read that when a sinner repents on earth the angels rejoice in heaven. If you and I fulfill 1 John 1:9 and confess our sins the angels in heaven stop and rejoice and yell out, praise to God. In soccer terms you can see Gabriel on the heavenly microphone screaming out, "Gooooaaaallll" as he and the other angels see a believer repent and turn back to God. There is excitement and rejoicing in heaven for repentance. How do you and I respond? We are skeptical that a person really repents! What gives us excitement? We need a physical goal in soccer or a sport success to get us excited. Do we rejoice with the angels when someone overcomes the power of sin through the Spirit of God and cries out Abba Father? Let's rejoice like a goal has been scored when we repent or see others repent. Angels understand God's character and desire for repentents. He waits eagerly for us to repent so the angels can repent.