On the Field

It's a wonderful thing to consider how God uses human beings, made in His image, but who are
placed in this fallen, finite world, in order to bring honor to Him. 2nd Corinthians 4 states:
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
8 We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed--
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

We, in these earthen vessels, are made and ordained to be useful to the Lord.  We are limited in our human capacity, but that enables the power and presence of God to be expressed through us.  Even those who have disabilities have the potential to fulfill the call of God in our lives.  And, we all have our limitations, but in our weakness, we're told in 2nd Corinthians 12, His strength can be seen. We can desire for people to look at us and see Jesus.

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We can be motivated to allow the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to fulfill God's calling in our lives.  The adventure that begins when we accept Christ as Savior and Lord guarantees our home in
heaven, and God sets a course for our lives until we get to that destination. Toward the end of his life, Paul writes in 2nd Timothy 4:
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Even in the darkest times of our lives, we can always find something - or Someone - to believe in, and in Him, we can have hope.

The team that Auburn defeated in the Music City Bowl turned out to not be as tough an opponent as some may have predicted.  After all, the Purdue Boilermakers had soundly defeated Ohio State early in the season; the Buckeyes ended up ranked #3 in the country behind Clemson and Alabama.

And, there to cheer Purdue on was Tyler Trent.  But, it was a struggle for the young man who had wrestled with bone cancer to make it.  According to Faithwire, he tweeted out that day:

“At the end of the day. All glory goes to God, without him there is no way I was going to make the game yesterday,” Tyler posted to Twitter after the game. “From having to have emergency surgery at the beginning of the week to throwing up all day Friday. – 1st Thes. 5:18-20 all day long!”

Tyler even had a chance to address the team after their big victory. The article says that he told the players: “Thanks for leaving your heart out on the field and showing the nation what being a Boilermaker is all about.” He is an alumnus of Purdue, and the story relates:

A long-term osteosarcoma battler, Trent previously had two years free from cancer, before the disease returned just prior to his enrollment at Purdue on a Presidential scholarship. According to the college website, a Presidential scholarship is awarded to those who can demonstrate “high academic achievement; leadership and service in school/community.”

As part of his treatment, Trent had to have his pelvis removed. But just 11 days after the surgery, he started attending classes at Purdue.

Another Faithwire article made reference to Tyler's interview with the Sports Spectrum podcast about the importance of his faith in Jesus.  He said, "It’s my everything. It’s the cornerstone,” adding, “Every morning, I make sure to get in the Word. My faith is what keeps me going honestly. I don’t think I would be able to smile or have the happy face that people have seen on TV without my faith.”

Earlier this month, Purdue quarterback David Blough tweeted out:

On Dec. 14 Tyler shared this verse from 1 Corinthians with me, “But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”

Blough added, "I can only imagine what it’s like where he is now."  You see, Tyler has now gone home to be with the Lord.  Blough, who describes himself as "Christ follower" on his Twitter feed, also tweeted: "Rest In Peace to my friend, my captain, my brother, my hero. You inspired us all by the way you lived. I love you, and I can’t wait to see you again. Forever #TylerStrong."

Tyler spoke at the College Football Awards, as well.  The Faithwire story posted a SportsCenter tweet that said, "A year ago, I prayed that I would have the opportunity to share my story, and now it's coming true...At the end of the day, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel and as long as you rely on your faith, things will work out."  He had also told Sports Spectrum:

“Whether I wake up tomorrow or not, I know where I’m going to end up and having that comfort and that peace is huge,” he continued. “I really don’t know how anyone is able to fight a terminal illness without faith, honestly.”

And prior to the Music City Bowl against Auburn, according to the Tennessean, Tyler was there at midfield as an honorary captain, having been flown to Nashville by Indianapolis Colts' owner Jim Irsay.

I think that a concept that Tyler related to the Purdue football team after its big victory over Ohio State can be motivational for us.  He said that they left their "heart on the field."  That means to give it all, to not hold back.  For us, that means we are to seek to do our best for the Lord, allowing Christ's power to be displayed through us.  Where God calls, He makes His strength available in order to complete the task He has given, and to do it well.

That's true in the micro sense for the individual assignments we have, it's true in the daily sense in that we should live each day for His glory, and from a big-picture perspective, we can also know that when we have finished the course, we can know what our eternal destination will be.  If Christ is our Savior, then we can know we will spend eternity with Him.

Finally, we can make it our aim not to allow any barriers from keeping God from using us.  He will use those who have disabilities or health challenges, and the Church can be involved in encouraging those who have conditions who hold them back to press forward.