[NECESSARY DISCLAIMER: Lots of sports stuff to follow. Yes, a nifty little Christ-following tie-in at the end, but sports stuff first.]

Have I mentioned in this space that I am a huge fan of the National Football League and its product?

Have I also mentioned I am an even HUGER fan of the Kansas City Chiefs… your back-to-back Super Bowl Champions?

I’m sure I have. In fact, my attention to this subject has been so borderline obsessive lately that Joan was recently prompted to ask, “When is this all going to end?”

And she’s a FAN!

But in my defense… when you’ve been a loyal follower of a team for 45 years and known almost nothing but heartbreak, disappointment, and misery, it is kind of a giddy moment to watch them suddenly become a bonafide DYNASTY.

(Take heart, non-football fans. Here is the faith tie-in you have been waiting for…)

In my semi-obsessive state of fandom, I sat down to watch a replay of the recently completed Super Bowl LVIII. You know, the one the Chiefs won 25-22. And lo and behold, I discovered that it was an ENTIRELY different viewing experience when I already knew the OUTCOME!

During the live broadcast of the game on February 11, I stressed and fretted about every negative play. The times when the Chiefs lost yardage, or didn’t catch a pass, or had to give up and punt the ball were genuinely distressing for me. I might have even let hopelessness and despair creep in once or twice.

HOWEVER… when I watched the game KNOWING how it ultimately turned out, I saw those same negative moments in a completely different light. They were no less negative, but they did not cause me to lose hope. I was able to watch them and say, “Well, that sure didn’t work. But I know where this whole thing is headed.”

Are you beginning to see where this metaphor is headed?

Our experience of life when we put Christ at the center offers us the SAME EXPERIENCE! That is to say, we know how it all turns out! We know who wins! We know that every setback, every heartbreak, every dead end we encounter is not the end of the world. We come to see them as just pieces of added drama designed to keep life interesting.

Patrick Mahomes – the phenomenal quarterback of the Chiefs – has gained a well-deserved reputation as “The Comeback King.” His performance in Super Bowl LVIII only burnished that reputation further, leading the team back from a 10-point deficit to eventual victory.

But as good as he is, Mahomes has NOTHING on the all-time reigning champ of comebacks, Jesus Christ. 10-point deficit? Try three days DEAD in a TOMB! 

Yes. Knowing the game’s outcome in advance is a tremendous gift. It not only changes the way you watch your own life unfold, but also gives you a gift to pass on to others. Your confidence in the middle of life’s storms and tempests is a gift you are meant to share with those around you. 

Because, after all…

… we are all in this together.

Abundant blessings;