A Greater Crown

In the latter part of the 6th chapter of Ephesians, in which Paul outlines the pieces of the "full armor of God," he spends some time on the topic of prayer, writing this:
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--
19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

A key word, there in verse 19, is "open." We must have open hearts in order to not only receive Christ, but to allow Him to work powerfully in our lives. We can experience His cleansing and see His holiness expressed through us. As we maintain a right relationship, we can open our lives for others to see Jesus and open our mouths so that we can speak words that exalt Him - words of truth, coated in love, that speak to those who interact with us. 

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It's, quite frankly, one of my favorite verse of Scripture, because it points to what God has done in us through Jesus. It's 1st Peter 2:9, and here is that verse and the one following:
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Imagine this: following a victory of a professional sports team in a key playoff contest, the head coach walks into a room of reporters and says this:

"Greatness, power, glory, victory and honor belong to you, because everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you. The kingdom belongs to you, Lord..."

That is a quote from the book of 1st Chronicles, and it actually happened in Baltimore, following the Ravens' victory over the Houston Texans.  Head coach John Harbaugh is the guilty party here, and FoxNews.com reported that he spoke those words, according to OutKick NFL insider Armando Salguero.  The article goes on to say:

Harbaugh's quote came a week after C.J. Stroud, the quarterback Harbaugh's Ravens beat Saturday, gave "all glory to my Lord and savior Jesus Christ" after the Texans' playoff win over the Cleveland Browns.

Stroud's comments were edited out of a post on X, formerly Twitter, from the official account of NBC's "Sunday Night Football."

Sports Spectrum offered coverage of Harbaugh's faith expression last Saturday, as well as other public professions. Regarding the Bible verse, he noted, “This is something that was said to me before the game, and it just was meaningful to me, so I’m gonna share it with you because I think it’s the right thing to do,” He added, “There’s an amazing spirit on this team, and I just want to give honor and glory where it’s due.”

The article goes on to say:

Harbaugh is a regular at team Bible studies and practices daily spiritual disciplines that include Bible reading and prayer. Last July, Harbaugh joined the Sports Spectrum Podcast to discuss his definition of success and his growth in Christ over the years.

“To me, success is alignment with God,” he said. “Perfect success would be perfect alignment with God and God’s will. … He knows what our true desires are, what our purpose is, so trying to find that purpose through connection with God — being connected and filled with the spirit of God, the Holy Spirit — that is success.”

John Harbaugh isn't the only member of the family who made some faith statements last week. The Federalist reported on his brother, Jim's appearance at the March for Life, where the national college championship coach was on stage:

Harbaugh expanded on his commitment to life in an interview on the sidelines of the rally.

“There’s no right without the right to be born,” Harbaugh said. “No other rights matter if you don’t have the right to be born.”

Harbaugh also spoke about his team’s religious revival after 70 players were baptized into Christianity this season.

“There’s a spiritual mission to our team,” Harbaugh said, “and I’m inspired by them.”

The head football coach made headlines in summer 2022 just one month after the Dobbs decision when he pledged to raise any babies his staff or players couldn’t.

Yes, you're probably thinking that the coach who was suspended for six games this past season might not be a greatest spokesman for matters of faith and life. I agree, but I do think it's notable to mention that God is certainly moving in the lives of the football team, and that he professes a Biblical view of life, despite his shortcomings.

Among the NFL playoff teams, there are some wonderful faith stories - consider the proclamations of head coaches DeMeco Ryans of the Texans and Todd Bowles of the Buccaneers, in addition to the much-publicized and clipped comments about Christ made by Texans QB1 C.J. Stroud.

And, leading the San Francisco 49ers into the NFC championship this weekend will be Brock Purdy. Sports Spectrum reported on his faith journey:

“I believe that Jesus Christ did come down, and died for my sins and rose again, and He is living and sitting beside God (the Father) on the throne,” Purdy told Sports Spectrum in February. “And so I believe that. It’s not just some story fairytale thing. It’s real. And it allows me to stay level-headed and real with life.”

Despite the attention that has come his way as a rising NFL star, Purdy knows that chasing the things of this world is ultimately a vain pursuit.

“The minute you have fame, and if you’re trying to chase status and money and all this stuff, you’ll lose your life — rather than denying yourself, picking up your cross, keeping your eyes on Jesus and His promises” he told Sports Spectrum. “Through that, that’s life, and that’s a life worth living.”

So, while I'm not saying who I'd like to win the championship games this weekend, I am heartened by the display of faith that I have seen during the previous rounds of playoffs. It's a reminder that, even though it might get you censored, as C.J. Stroud experienced, we should look for opportunities to boldly proclaim who Jesus is and who He is to us.  He's not merely the "good Lord" who will "bless" us, but He is the One who has made it possible to come into relationship with Him. 

I am thankful to live in a country that was founded on principles that are consistent with the Scriptures. Unlike countries that persecute Christians, we live in a country where, in most cases, we can freely proclaim and exalt the name of Jesus. But, we have to be mindful that 1st Timothy 2 tells us we should pray for our leaders so that we might live peaceful and God-honoring lives.  But, we can make up our minds that, even though it might be tougher to live that life in the coming days, we can be faithful to live for Christ.