This week I’ve been visiting with my brother in Arizona. He shared a story about taking his daughter to a college orientation. The speaker talked about the stresses a new student might feel–a sense of inadequacy, feeling like others know what they are doing while you don’t, worry that grades won’t come in well, or that other students won’t be friendly. The advice of the speaker to the students was to remember a key principle: “Same Team”. The students aren’t competing against each other, they are working together to learn and to have a positive experience.
There are so many gospel contexts where remembering that we’re on the same team can be so helpful. The Apostle Paul taught that “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6). In short, we’re all on the Lord’s team.
In the gospel, we play on the same team when we serve in our callings, help others and strive to love others as the Savior loves us. In our families, we play on the same team when we set aside our own desires to support each other. We play on the same team by treating each other by replacing jealousy with kindness.
Just because we’re on the same team doesn’t mean we’ll have the same experiences. Life throws challenges at different people at different times. If we are to “comfort those that stand in need of comfort”, it means inevitably we’ll each have our turn to be the one who needs comfort. Playing on the same team doesn’t mean we live the same lives. It simply means that we love God and love each other along the way.
Much love to all of you,
Damon Cann, Sunday School President