Until last night, I hadn’t been to an Indianapolis Colts game since the breath taking AFC championship in January of 2007 in the now extinct RCA Dome when the Colts came from far behind to beat the New England Patriots on the way to Super Bowl XLI and a victory over the Chicago Bears.
Now, we have the new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis where the Colts are playing their second year. Some dear friends invited Linda and me to our first Colts game in the new venue on Sunday night against the Patriots.
If you don’t follow the NFL, you may not know that the Colts were behind by 17 points in the fourth quarter and still 13 points behind with less than two and a half minutes in the game. Numerous Colt’s fans around us conceded that the game was lost and left the building. I was prepared to offer my congratulations to the father and son beside me who had traveled from Wisconsin to see their beloved Patriots. But that never happened. Three fourth quarter touchdowns, the last a pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne with thirteen seconds left on the clock was the game winner.
My wife reported on the game to a close friend, “Tom whooped and shouted and jumped up and down and basically made a fool of himself but about 60,000 other people were doing the same thing.” I thought the more remarkable behavior was the calmness with which she took in the whole spectacle.
I’m not sure how the apostle Paul would have behaved at such an event, but I have no doubt he would have used it as an example for perseverance and endurance in the life of the Christian.
Run in such a way as to get the prize…I do not run like a man running aimlessly. I do not fight like a man beating the air. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 New International Version
The prize of the NFL is a few minutes of glory that soon fades. The prize for the believer is eternal, based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which guarantees victory over our enemy, death, if we place our trust and confidence in Christ. As those who are assured of ultimate victory in Christ because it is a gift from God, we endure in life and ministry.
…thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore…Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:57, 58 New International Version
Tom Macy 