I caught Kurt Warner yesterday on the Dan Patrick morning sports talk show. Sports Illustrated had posed the question: Does God care who wins the Super Bowl? His answer was good - God isn't so much concerned about the outcome of the game as He is about those who call on His name. Warner opined that it was more important that Christians players, on and off the field, play the game and live their lives in such a way that the give glory and praise to God and are faithful to Him in all the times of their lives.
Warner went on to say that after he won his first Super Bowl. he thought his teams would win even more. What better way for Warner to continue to testify about the goodness of God. Instead, his team (the Rams) lost the second Super Bowl game they played in; Warner got hurt and was eventually picked up by the NY Giants; he became the starter but ended up on the bench behind Eli Manning; came to Arizona, started but then found himself on the bench again, backing up Matt Leinhart.
Through those tough and disappointing experiences that Warner learn that he could still be a positive witness for Jesus Christ. Because he handled adversity with unwavering faith, Warner heard from folks that his example had helped and inspired them. Because Warner gave his all to his teams, even when he was not playing, other were encouraged to do the same. And all the while, his testimony did not change. It was clear to teammates, coaches, broadcasters and others that Christianity was a 7 day a week thing for Kurt Warner, not something he rolled out occasionally when times were easy and good.
I really appreciated Warner's testimony and it was obvious that Dan Patrick respected Warner for his honesty and his winsome style of speaking on behalf of Christ Jesus. Christianity is not something we do on Sunday and then sit on a shelf for the the next six days. Being a follower of Jesus is a 7 day a week thing. It's remembering that we are His full time representatives. And it's not a burden being so. We are in partnership with the God who considered our salvation so important that He gave His one and only Son to be our Savior from sin, death and the devil. God bless your witness as you share the love of Jesus with others this weekend!
