SUPER BOWL LIX
The Super Bowl is the most watched tv program of the year. Thirty-second commercials cost about $8 million. About $1.5 billion was bet on the game. Commercials and half-time performances are big topics of discussion. In this year’s Super Bowl, President Donald Trump attended and was the first sitting President to attend a Super Bowl.
Super Bowl LIX saw the pursuit of a three-peat by Kansas City—which failed, as the Eagles upset the Chiefs 40-22. We saw a rookie, Cooper DeJean, become the first rookie to intercept a pass and return it for a touchdown. We saw Saquon Barkley set a new NFL record for yards rushed in a season. We saw the winning coach, Nick Sirianni, begin his interview thanking God, and many players and Eagle owners did the same. The importance of faith and teamwork were dominant themes in the interviews. Several Eagle players thanked the Eagle owners for “believing in them and giving them another chance!”
The Most Valuable Player in Super Bowl LIX was Jalen Hurts. He played quarterback for Alabama and had a 19-2 record as a starter under Nick Saban. He lost his job to Tua Tagovailoa. He could have easily blamed others, pouted, and possibly quit, but he had a strong faith in God and a desire for a different future. In the NFL draft, there were five quarterbacks drafted before him. The Eagles saw something in him that nobody else could see. The world saw it in Super Bowl LIX!
Hurts lost his first Super Bowl encounter two years ago to Kansas City. He began examining his ability and the purpose God had for him. After a couple of weeks, he was interviewed and asked about his future. He said, “After thinking and praying I will be back, and we will be back.” That’s the attitude of a real winner. He was back, was voted the MVP, and the Eagles won!
The Eagles ran the ball 53% of the time during the season, more than any other team in pro football. People questioned Hurts’ passing ability. When the Chief’s defense was geared to stop the running game of the Eagles, Jalen Hurts showed everybody how wrong they were by hitting 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for two touchdowns. He is the only quarterback to have five rushing and five passing touchdowns in post season!
He has often received a lot of criticism, but rather than letting that defeat him, he has allowed it to fuel his patient perseverance to fulfill God’s purpose. When he was asked how he always dealt with criticism, he said, “I had my purpose before they had their criticisms.”
Purpose, persistence, and following the Will of God is a winning formula, not just in football games, but in the game of life. God can always pick you up and give you the power to move forward to fulfill His purpose. There is always hope at the end of the rope.
Jalen Hurts reminds us that God can take today’s failures and turn them into tomorrow’s future. God can use today’s setbacks as a setup for superior accomplishments. In tough times, God doesn’t put a period, but rather a comma indicating something better is to come.
While Americans put so much emphasis on the Super Bowl, it’s not nearly as important as the game of your life. I couldn’t tell you who won the Super Bowl ten years ago—bowl wins are soon forgotten. Giving your life to Jesus Christ and fulfilling His purpose for your life is a score that you will never forget. It lasts not only for the game of life, but also for the game of eternal life.
What’s your score in life?
