Dave’s Monday Blast — February 1, 2015
Yesterday I was reading an article from Pastor Jim Denison. He writes a daily cultural blog. His topic…Tom Brady: Football doesn’t matter to God. Most of you know that Brady is the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots. I know that football outcomes do matter to Tom Brady…that seemed apparent yesterday, but in the article he clearly indicated that he has the correct perspective relative to the bigger picture. Interestingly enough, millions of Americans in a recent survey disagree with Brady. The outcome of that game last night MUST have mattered to God!
Denison writes, “Since God knows the future (Isaiah 46:9-10), He knows the outcome of the game. Does this mean He determined it? Knowing and choosing are not always the same. God is not bound by time—He sees tomorrow as you and I see today. As C.S. Lewis notes, if we view time as a line on a page, God is the page.”
If I watched you read this missive, that wouldn’t mean that I made you do so. The fact that God can “see” today what you eat for lunch tomorrow doesn’t mean that He has chosen that meal for you. Since He is sovereign, He must permit all that happens (Matthew 10:29). But since He gave humans free will and chooses to honor our freedom, His permissive will is not always His perfect will (2 Peter 3:9).
Having said all that, there are times when God does choose a specific future and for that we must be eternally grateful as those events have shaped our present. Denison goes on to say, “He predicted the birthplace of Jesus centuries before that first Christmas (Micah 5:2). He knew beforehand how Pharaoh would respond to Moses (Exodus 3:19). Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Him (Matthew 26:34), and repeatedly forecast His crucifixion (Matthew 16:21).”
God is a King, and chooses that which advances His Kingdom. By what scenario could His Kingdom purpose be served through the outcome of the Super Bowl? Brady says, “Look at the attention I get: It’s because I throw a football. But that’s what society values. That’s not what God values. He didn’t invent the game. We did. I have some hand-eye coordination, and I can throw the ball. I don’t think that matters to God.” Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers agrees: “I don’t think God cares a whole lot about the outcome. He cares about the people involved, but I don’t think He’s a big football fan.”
So my friends, it seems to me that God didn’t care too much about who won the game yesterday. ONLY GOD COULD HAVE KNOWN THAT CRAZY OUTCOME! Here’s the bottom line: a score is not a soul. We are human “beings”, not human “doings”. We are more than our achievements and failures no matter what the world thinks of them. There is only one “game” with eternal significance, and it wasn’t played on a football field yesterday. Paul could testify: “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God or separated from Him eternally (Philippians 3:14). He does care if we care more about souls than fans care about the score.
Dension ends with this thought, “The next person you meet will matter to God long after Sunday’s game is over. Let’s win the Super Bowl of the “soul.” Now that is an INTENTIONAL challenge worthy of a Man of Intention. Bear His Image well this day
