Super Faith

When we accept Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts, to empower us to live a life that reflects the inward change that He has brought about in us.  While salvation is instantaneous, that moments begins a process of transformation into the image of Christ that lasts our whole lives.
Colossians 1 states:
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

God's presence will work in us mightily as we relinquish our dependence on ourselves and learn to depend on the power of Jesus, who lives within us.  He has placed us in the body of Christ and in this world in order that He may be glorified through our faithfulness.  We can have the expectation each and every day of Christ being shown through us because He is inside of us, expressing Himself as we lay down our own lives and embrace His life.

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In Ephesians 2, we are reminded about the faith through which we are saved, and through which we exemplify the power of the risen Christ:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

This year's Super Bowl features a number of athletes playing at their highest level with an enhanced sense of motivation to take home the championship trophy.  Perhaps there is no player who will be on that field Sunday who will be more motivated than Rams' receiver Brandin Cooks.

Last year, Brandin Cooks was in the big game, playing for the Patriots in their 41-33 loss to Philadelphia.  According to a Sports Spectrum article, Cooks was knocked out of the game with a concussion.  He was traded to Los Angeles during the off-season. The article states, referring to the win over the Saints in the NFC Championship:

After the win Jan. 20, Cooks revealed to FOX 11 Los Angeles reporter Pablo Alsina a prayer he’d been praying since the last Super Bowl.

“I’ve asked God to redeem me since that moment,” Cooks said in the jubilant locker room “A year from now, I’d always pray, from that moment to redeem me in such a way to glorify Him. And I think He’s doing that.”

In that game against New Orleans, he caught 7 passes for 107 yards.  The article says, "Leading up to the big game, Cooks is posting prayers and Bible verses on social media, as usual."  An earlier Sports Spectrum article, from October, said:

In other words, on a team full of superstars, Cooks is as productive and consistent as any of them.

Off the field, the former first-round draft pick has been just as persistent in his declaration of faith. A devout Christian who’s credited God for his gifts and called his relationship with Jesus the most important thing in his life, Cooks has rarely gone a day during the Rams’ hot start without sharing Biblical wisdom.

On the other sideline, Devin McCourty will be roaming the secondary for the Patriots.  He has overcome the loss of a father when he was young.  According to CBN, he had grown up going to church, but drifted during his time in the NFL.  But, that changed when he went to a Bible study led by a team chaplain.  The story states:

“He’s talking about that guilty feeling, there’s nothing we can do to earn the right to be Christians and earn what Christ has done for us. Like you can’t earn that. You know, that’s given to you. You know, that’s His mercy. And it just happened to be the day I walked in there and went. And it was kind of everything I was feeling that I was lacking. And was like it’s right there, you know, said Devin.”

Devin re-dedicated his life to Jesus Christ, giving Him full control. Now with God as a top priority, Devin learned to go to his Heavenly Father for big decisions. Like in 2014, when he became a free agent and was contemplating leaving the team.

He is now a husband and father, his daughter having been born just after Super Bowl LI against the Falcons.  The story relates that he is learning to depend on God the Father to strengthen him to be a good dad.

Movieguide has a story on 5 players who will be in the game this Sunday.

These are men who play at the highest level and have made their faith central to our lives.  God can enable us to excel in our endeavors, giving us strength and wisdom in order to glorify Him.

Sometimes it's the process more than the outcome.  God is working in us in our perceived victories and defeats.  It's our dependence on Him and the growth in our relationship that are the important things.

Our victory is not determined by the scoreboard.  We have victory in Christ, and we can walk victorious as we apply what we've learned and glorify the Lord.  Even if we seem to have "lost" in this life, the clock has not run out and God is continuing to do His work.