But we still remember the feeling we had as the clock struck 00:00.00 in the Georgia Dome. Some fans were shocked, literally to the point of silence for an extended period of time. Some cried. Some wept. Some were too confused to do either. Some sat unmoving for a while trying to process what just happened, and how we didn't deserve that game to end the way that it did. Some still held their heads high and cheered on the team as they walked back to the locker room. But this time it was Auburn that did it, not Alabama. The state of Alabama is not sweet. That Lynyrd Skynyrd is full of it.
But in my mind, Saturday was a victory even though it doesn't say so on our record. And most recognizably, Aaron Murray was the hero that we have all known him to be for the last four seasons. He has proven to us that he is a man indeed. In this game alone he led 3 inspiring scoring drives in the last 10 minutes of play to lead us to what we were all sure would be another sweet, sweet victory over our troubled friends from Auburn. Murray did "put da team on his back doe." He did everything he possibly could have and still somehow Georgia ended up on the losing side. And Georgia wept.
Now here's my question:...(s)
When is the last time we wept over the brokenness of a sinful world and our hard hearts instead of over a broken football season? When is the last time we sat in silence for 30 minutes meditating on the reality of grace, rather than the reality of a tough loss? When is the last time we sang ourselves hoarse in church instead of yelling ourselves hoarse at a football game? When is the last time we spent an hour after church evaluating the worship service "play-by-play" with our friends and talked about how incredible "that one moment was"? When is the last time we couldn't wait to get home to read commentaries on the gospel passage that was preached on, rather than reading commentaries on a football game we just spent 6 hours out of our day to see? When is the last time we showed up early to church so we could get the best seats? When is the last time we were so excited to listen to a pastor preach that we literally sat outside of the sanctuary for 4 hours and talked about all the possible outcomes and topics of the sermon? When is the last time we cheered our hearts out, jumped up and down, hugged random strangers, gave high fives, and clapped along to a glorious fight song because a single person came to know the Lord as their Eternal Savior, rather than over a 5 yard touchdown run?
Do you get my point?
In case you guys didn't catch it, these are rhetorical questions. (Thank you public education for clever ways of making people feel guilty without actually calling them out.)
Disclaimer: I need to ask myself these questions more than anyone, I promise. My dad always used to ask my me and my siblings, "Where's the gospel in this?" and, "How is this going to effect your salvation?" Bottom line is; football will not effect your salvation. Aaron Murray's performance on the field will not earn you a spot in Heaven, no matter how "Good of a Damn Dawg" he is. He will not die for you so that you can spend eternity with him in a constant state of bliss over being National Championships. He doesn't have the authority to lose a game but then come back in three days and change Georgia's record to being undefeated and give the fans bragging rights over all other teams. Aaron Murray cannot put the hopes of all Georgia fans on his back alone and promise us everlasting joy. He cannot be our savior, so let's stop trying to make him one.
Disclaimer: I need to ask myself these questions more than anyone, I promise. My dad always used to ask my me and my siblings, "Where's the gospel in this?" and, "How is this going to effect your salvation?" Bottom line is; football will not effect your salvation. Aaron Murray's performance on the field will not earn you a spot in Heaven, no matter how "Good of a Damn Dawg" he is. He will not die for you so that you can spend eternity with him in a constant state of bliss over being National Championships. He doesn't have the authority to lose a game but then come back in three days and change Georgia's record to being undefeated and give the fans bragging rights over all other teams. Aaron Murray cannot put the hopes of all Georgia fans on his back alone and promise us everlasting joy. He cannot be our savior, so let's stop trying to make him one.
Let me hit ya with this though. Jesus has all authority in Heaven and on earth. Wham, blindsided, right? No. You knew it was coming because we all know in our heart of hearts that Jesus is King. He is the One who has the say on who "wins" or "loses" forever. His gospel shows us that at the end of our lives we will not look back and wish that we had been to more Georgia games, or that we had won more National Championships...or at least one... When we are on our deathbed I guarantee we will be thinking about what is coming next. And I assure you, it's not another Georgia game. John Piper says, "At the end of every road is God. You will meet him as light and life or as fire and torment." And when we meet God, He will not ask us about how many times you "dapped up" Todd Gurley. He will not ask us about where we were the night of November 16, 2013. He will either welcome us in as good and faithful servants, or He will say "I never knew you."
So yes...Georgia losing is sad. There is heartbreak, and there may even be cause for tears. But if we cry over anything this week, let's cry over the people who have no hope beyond the hedges. Let's attend football games and cheer loud and freak out when Georgia makes a great play. But let's do so in a manner that glorifies God. And the way to glorify God in the midst of a football game is by cheering in such a way that proclaims that you have a joy that is not dependent on football; cheering in a manner that shows others that there is something greater awaiting us that deserves louder cheer. Because even the deafening roar of the stadium is just a miniscule portion of the roar of the redeemed in Heaven praising God for His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
So I repent for idolizing football, and I encourage you to as well. What is awesome is that we will be forgiven for putting football before God; for making Saturdays more important than Sundays; for making Aaron Murray greater than Jesus.
Go Jesus. Sic'em.
Love this, brother. And although I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said, I will add one thing, just because it's on my mind and I wanted to share.....
ReplyDelete.For some, the game wasn't just a game. For the coaching staff, and especially for Mark Richt, every game is literally a factor in determining whether or not they have a job next year. So for the people who are affected in a really serious way by this loss, they don't have the luxury (like the fans do) of reminding themselves that's it's just a game and that it's not really that big of a deal. BUT, even though, for Mark Richt, it's not just a game, he STILL can have peace and security and joy, precisely because of everything you said in this post. And that's the beautiful thing about Jesus.....that we can't just count on him to hold us up in the "it-was-just-a-game" hard times ---- but that we can also count on him to hold us up in the "I just got fired" hard times. Or the "my husband left me" hard times. Or the "my baby died of cancer" hard times. I think Christians too often adopt the phrase "well, it could be worse" in order to make ourselves feel better about our circumstances. But sometimes, for some people, it literally could not be any worse. But even in those times --- probably especially in those times --- Jesus could not be any more powerful, or present, or real. So....yes, the game on Saturday was just a game (for most people). It wasn't life or death. But even when it is life or death, Jesus is still our perfect quarterback who will always, always, always carry us through until the very end.