Did you know there was a big football game today?  You couldn't watch television without being reminded of it in various ways.  Super Bowls come and go but we will get wrapped up in it again next year.  My number one complaint about the game is how it is overblown to be something it cannot be.  Don't get me started about the commercials either.  It is supposed to be a championship game between the two teams that survive the tournament.  Just seems like some are still looking for a perfect game and that just won't happen. 

There was a very good article this past week in "Sports Illustrated" on how God and sports relate.  Part of the question is just how much should the two go together at all?  I can imagine two thousand years ago that those in athletic contests did spend some time praying.  But many of those events were indeed life or death competitions.  Today you see athletes praying before of after a game in groups.  You often witness or hear one talking of his faith or being thankful to God for an outcome.  More than a few sport journalists find fault in all the religious stuff being brought into the field of play.  It doesn't bother me very much but we do need to think about questions that are raised.

Does God really care who won the game today?  Many of the players from the winning team were already thanking God or talking about Him in the interviews.  No doubt that will be a topic of conversation on the airwaves tomorrow.  I do not really know if God had a pick in the game.  I do know there are occasions you have to wonder as to how or why some things happen as they do during a contest.  No one can prove it but you have to ponder as to how things play out at times.  My best answer is that it sure does look like divine intervention on occasion but winning a ballgame is probably not high on God's to do list.  The athlete who has faith in God is not promised victory just for belief.  My guess is there are some believers on the team that lost today.  We should indeed be grateful for any success that comes our way but do not think a loss equals spiritual failure.

I do not know if God cares who wins a Mexican League soccer game.  Maybe He pays attention to a Junior League hockey game in Canada or Russia.  We tend to ask the wrong questions usually.  Can an athlete thank God in defeat as much as in victory seems to be a better inquiry.  Are we willing to embrace all sides of a contest with an attitude that pleases God?  What I do know is God cares about all of our life from a view beyond the bleachers.  His interest is eternal which may not show up on a scoreboard.  Maybe you can make sense of this rambling somehow.  Perhaps you can find food for thought about something that may or may not be a big deal.  If not, just wait until next year!

Bro. Trey