touchdown jesus: my love of football's place in life

Make no mistake about it: I love college football.  More than that, I love Arkansas Razorback football.  (yes I did say, and mean, "love", as in "having deep affection for")

Besides growing up being indoctrinated to love no other sports team other than ones from the University of Arkansas by way of an entire family system that ran on the highs and lows of seasons in the Fall, it is hard to say why I love Arkansas football so much.  The Hogs have never actually done anything for me, outside of giving me emotional highs and lows throughout the years along with great memories of times shared with friends in and around games.  On the contrary, they have actually given me plenty of reason to not follow them so intensely.  I have lived through more heartbreaking games and seasons than not, yet like the main character in a bad Lifetime movie, I find myself returning to my emotionally abusive love time and time again.

With no tangible reason, I simply love Arkansas football....perhaps too much.

Yet, even with this strong, unrelenting love for the team, I do not find my identity in being a Razorback fan.  There are plenty of people that identify me with the team, as being a fan, much like I am identified as being a rabid Jack Johnson fan.  While I am ok with this, and see no problem socially or even theologically with people being able to identify you with something you enjoy, it remains to not be who I am.

I find my identity in Christ...alone.

Unlike the Hogs, who have nothing for me, Jesus has done everything for me.  My team constantly practices, trains, and plays as if I were nonexistent.  They have done this for years and will continue to do so.  I could go up to any of the players and not be known in the slightest by any of them.  This is not, however, the same case for Christ.  He has, and continues to do, everything with me in mind.  If it wasn't enough that He gave His own life as payment for all that I've done that falls short of God's glory, He continues to seek me out with His unchanging and unconditional love day after day, loving me as if I were the only one in existence.  Now that's something to get excited about.

While I do reserve much of what little emotional energy I have to go towards football in the Fall, that is not because I love Jesus any less or place football any higher.  For me, it is simply because I place only a fraction of my spiritual life within the confines of emotion.  I see God speak to and through me in many different ways that are not emotional.  I often find emotions to be tricky and a bit deceiving, not to mention I don't emote much in general.  That is not to say that those that find emotional release and comfort in their relationship with God are less "together".  That's just my style.

So, as I find myself reluctantly coming to the latter part of another college football season, I do have a distaste for the drought of entertainment in my life that I enjoy living vicariously through my team but know that at this time of year, as with every time of year, I look to Christ as my strength, guide, power, and fulfillment.  Football teams come and go, players have good days and bad, things of this world (even football teams) ultimately disappoint.  But, it is the love that God continues to so graciously shower me with, despite my best efforts falling short of being worthy of Him, that sustains me.

I truly believe there will be football in heaven.  There has to be...its just so good!


btw: sorry for the Jesus-juke


-peace

is my all not enough?

I'm not one of those that has a dramatic testimony as to how Christ came in and dramatically rearranged my life.  I was not turned from a life of killing people, selling and doing drugs, selling my body for money, ripping poor people off, or the like.  Instead, I was ten years old when I became a Christ follower.  I did so not because my life was so much in shambles that He was the only place I could turn for relief.  Instead, I turned to Him because I realized, the best a ten-year-old's understanding manage, that I was a sinner that could do nothing to earn Heaven on my own.

After that point though, I continued to stay on my path of being a "good kid".  To this day, I have never done drugs, consumed alcohol (outside of Nyquil), had sex, or killed anyone.  Yet, even with my list of "I haven'ts" I remain unworthy of His mercy.  I have sacrificed many things, including relationships, countless physical pleasures, material possessions, and a career that would pay decent, all for Him.  With this, it would seem that I'd have a right to proclaim that I have earned some sort of extra favor with God.  I'm a minister for goodness sake after all.  Yet, even with all that I have done it remains a feeble effort at best compared to God's perfection.

"We all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment."
                                                                                                                                   Isaiah 64:6

We, as humans, have a condition of sin that makes living up to God's standard impossible on our own merit.  We are not sinners because we sin, we are sin because we are sinners.  While this is bad news at first glance, a closer look reveals something marvelous: while we are sinners by birth and condition and we continue to offer nothing but filthy rags at the feet of God on our best days of being righteous, because He is so Holy and Good, His Grace and Mercy abound so much that He is able to sustain us and do His work through us.  That is good news my friends.

So, even though I fail miserably and often and on my best day of doing good I still am not able to earn any good things from God, He continues to shower me with blessings and strength...because HE LOVES ME. (and you just as much)

Selah that



-peace