Football Season

It was the fall of the year; that season when the leaves begin to change color and there’s a certain chill that lingers in the morning air. It was the time of the year when it gets darker a little bit earlier each day, the evenings growing longer and longer with each passing day, and the smell of smoke from burning leaves is in the air. The sound of a distant lawn mower could be heard.  I can still remember the grass being damp, the smell of the earth, the feel of the ball in my hands. I could hear the breath of the person facing me across the line of scrimmage, a guy at least 25 years older than I who outweighed me by at least 100 pounds. I was ready…every nerve tingling, every sense heightened.
 
22…47…hike, hike! Then it happened. The guy across from me casually reached across, putting his hands on my head, forcing my body downward, as he easily stepped right over me to get to the quarterback. That was it…I had had enough! I wanted my Mom! I went running into my house, looking for her as I fought back the tears.
 
It was a traumatic event, dashing my hopes and dreams, my stellar football career over at the tender age of 7.
 
Oh, ok…so I never really even had a “stellar football career”…but it’s fun to dream about it.
 
But being a football player does relate to what this blog is about, and that’s “purpose.”
 
It’s football season, and I’m glad! I love watching football – live or on TV. Middle school, high school or college! It’s fun to watch, and I’m always amazed at the athleticism and coordination it takes to move that ball down the field. When they’re out there on the field, those 22 football players are each working to either get that ball down the field or to prevent it from being moved down the field. Each player has a purpose related to that overall goal.
 
It’s good to have a purpose. In fact, we humans spend a lot of our time thinking about and trying to find our purpose. Why am I here? What am I meant to do? What is my purpose?
 
Well, of course, we will find many ways of answering that question in life…

• On the football field
• In a career
• As a boyfriend or girlfriend, wife or husband, parent
• As we make a difference in the lives of the people around us
• In these and many other ways we find our purpose

 

Unfortunately, many people spend many years trying to find their purpose without much success.

• They become obsessed with money, with relationships, with success
• They feel they can’t truly fulfill their purpose unless they follow this career path or that career path, unless they live in a certain neighborhood or drive a certain car
• They confuse their real purpose with a purpose that is given to them by the world

 
 
In finding our purpose…our real purpose …we need to look at the Bible.
 
For you see, we were made…designed…for one true purpose, and that is to love God, to be in relationship with him.
 
On of the surprising things about becoming a Christian is finding out that there is really only one goal for our time on earth: to love God. That’s the whole purpose of his work on earth – to give us humans the opportunity to experience a loving relationship with himself.
 
Why should we love God? Because we were created to love him. Now, we can all choose to love something else, but that would be like using your car as a paperweight, or like using the quarterback on the defensive line, or using a place kicker as a free safety. True happiness and fulfillment come as we grow deeper in our love for God and, in turn, discover his love for us.
 
As Paul wrote, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3:19 NLT).
 
There is no greater purpose for your life.