Bobby turned the ball over for the fourth straight possession and the coach called time-out. As Bobby came to the bench his teammates were all over him. Bobby’s response was “Where’s the love guys?” At that moment there was very little love for Bobby or anyone on the team. They allowed the distraction of the turnovers to affect their attitudes toward their teammate.

The key ingredient of any relationship is love—agape love—a love that is self-sacrificing and cares more about the person than any situation. Every gift we have been given by God needs to be exercised in this kind of love—God’s genuine love. What do we do when evil sets in or when we go off on a teammate? We need to cling to what is good.

Bobby’s teammates couldn’t get past what happened, and their team lost by over 30 points. In the locker room after the game, the coach reminded each player how important he was to the team. He finished with Bobby. He looked him in the eye and said, “Bobby, you will always mean more to me as a person than anything you do as a player . . . I love you no matter what happens.” Bobby’s frown became the biggest smile. That is the power of love—no magic potions, no kissing a frog, just good words and signs of genuine, God-honoring love. That will make any team a winner.