Christian Athletes or Athletic Christians? Part II

As athletic injuries in football players go they weren’t common, neither were they unknown. The A team player had suffered a concussion and a fractured vertebra. The C team player had had a heart attack. For the A team player it was a matter of an “unlucky” hit. For the C team player it was a matter of the “unlucky” combination of steroids and genetics. Neither injury was fatal – yet.

Over the course of time, both players moved from the ER to ICU and finally into the same regular hospital room. It wasn’t a large facility; and, the thought was that the two young competitors might spur each other on into recovering quicker. Again, over the course of time, the two players exchanged many thoughts. Among those thoughts were God and prayer. The A team player was a Christian and related his testimony to the other. The B team player was not a Christian – yet. The A team player took advantage of having a captive audience and was a good witness for Christ. The C team player came to see that there might be something to this “Jesus stuff”; but, he had a problem.

The C team player related how he had never seen a prayer answered and related the last prayer he had heard – his coach’s prayer the night he got hurt – as proof that God, if He existed, only half listened at best. The C’s had won but hadn’t both of them had been badly hurt. The A team player responded with a query as to who should win if both teams prayed for victory. Should it be the team that played the best or the team closest to God?

As the question hung in the air, the A team player continued and he too cited the last prayer he had heard someone else pray – his coach’s prayer the night he got hurt. The C team had played the best and they had won; and, though they were both hurt it was serving God’s purpose. Weren’t they both drawing closer to God?

Two weeks later the A team player died unexpectedly from an undetected brain aneurism caused by his injury. At his funeral service people complained saying God didn’t listen to prayers - the kid got hurt playing football and died too young. It caused quite a stir when I disagreed and said the kid had lived just long enough for God to answer a prayer - because the kid had lived long enough to lead me to Jesus.