GOD AND SUPERBOWL
Every year, the Superbowl becomes the most viewed event in America. Marking the culmination of the football season, the Superbowl finale is much more than deciding who the champion football team is. It is show-time with elaborate programs at break and groundbreaking ads to entertain the viewers. It is party-time as people around the country get together and find a reason to celebrate.. Does God really fit in to all this? As the Superbowl gets underway, it is hard to miss-
A God who is sovereign- Sure enough, the last thing on people’s minds as they get ready for the extravaganza that football is would be to think about God. But fact is, it is God’s sovereignty that allows the football season, superbowl or for that matter any event on earth no matter how great or small. He is above all and before all things and in him all things hold together. Nations rise and fall at his voice and he remains exalted above all. Whether people acknowledge it or not, but for God allowing it, there would be no superbowl.
A God who restores- A few days ago, on K love radio, one of the hosts pointed out how the devastation of New Orleans a few years ago was so great that it would have made it unimaginable at that time to even consider that an event of the magnitude of a superbowl could be hosted there. Yet here we are with the city and the stadium restored and ready to go- teaches us of the restoring power of God. A bruised reed he will not break, rather he encourages and works on it to restore it. When the chips are down, it is to God that man needs to look and find the restoration and healing.
A God who enables- As Ray Lewis from the Ravens and Colin Kaepernick from the 49’ers square off against each other at the Superbowl, there is little similarity between them. One is an established legend, a veteran of many battles and playing probably his final game. The other is an emerging star, barely a few games old and with a promising career ahead of him. Yet what they share is a faith in Christ. Ray carries his faith on his sleeve and leaves no opportunity behind to exalt Christ and attribute his success to him. Colin is quieter verbally but is pretty loud with his many tattoos depicting his devotion to Christ. Both would attest that it is God who enables them to perform at a level that is quite impossible for most but a few. Be it in sports or other fields, time and again we see people who find the strength that Christ gives them to reach heights that would otherwise be beyond reach.
A God who offers true abundance-The Superbowl will come and go; one team and their supporters will experience the exhilaration of victory and the other the despair of a loss. Story lines will emerge and media frenzy with its many analyses will keep most people entertained for a few more days. Then the days ahead will reveal the loneliness, sadness and emptiness that comes from not having the fountain of life that only God can bring. Most will look elsewhere for entertainment and distraction that will keep them occupied. For those who have God in their lives or would choose to look to him will find the abundance that Jesus promises, ‘—–I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly’ (John 10:10).
Once that becomes a reality, the Superbowl will be just another event rather than the one that is the highlight of the year. And regardless of whether the sleeve or the tattoo triumphs, God will accomplish his purposes through it all.
