What's Better Than Saturday's In The Fall?

I admit it: I love Saturdays in the fall. If you're a college football fan, there are few things that get you more excited than Saturdays in the fall. Cooler weather, college game day, and some chicken wings are, for me, a recipe for a great weekend. All year long I look forward to this time of year with eager anticipation.

But as much as I enjoy watching Alabama play football, I recently asked myself a simple question: "Why do I care so much?" I've never attended The University of Alabama, nor has anyone in my immediate family that I know of. In fact, I have no personal connection to the school of any kind, other than the fact that I live in the state that bears the same name.

So why do I get so excited when Saturdays in the fall roll around? Why do I cheer when the Crimson Tide makes a great play and groan when their quarterback gets sacked? Why will I put on an Alabama t-shirt and cap this Saturday and give up three or four hours of my weekend to watch college students move a pigskin back and forth across a cow pasture? The only answer I can come up with is this: it's FUN! So whether it makes sense or not, I'll be cheering for the Crimson Tide again this Saturday. And it will be FUN (especially if the Tide rolls!).

With that being said, however, there's something this year that I've been looking forward to even more than Saturdays in the fall. Can you guess what it is? It's SUNDAYS IN THE FALL! I've started counting the days every week in eager anticipation for worship at Eulaton. I can't wait to see what God is going to do next. My recent bout with the flu that caused me to miss a Sunday was a huge bummer. Having to miss being here made this sick boy even sicker. I seriously can't wait for the next opportunity to gather together as the church.

And here's the great thing: unlike college football, what we're doing on Sundays at Eulaton actually matters. I know some people think it's blasphemy to speak like that, but seriously folks: do you really think when we get to heaven anybody's going to care who won or lost last Saturday's game? In the grand scope of eternity, the importance of college football ranks right up there with a night out at the bowling alley. A few hours of good, clean fun, but nothing of eternal significance.

So go ahead and enjoy some college football this weekend. I will. But let's remember to keep it in perspective. If you're more fired up about your team than you are about your Lord, then maybe you ought to do a spiritual inventory. As fun as it is to cheer for the Tide or the Tigers, how much more fun is it to lift high the name of Jesus? And that's the kind of fun that really matters.