I Found God In The Superbowl

Today, I wanna talk to you about spiritual depth and the Superbowl.

My dad owns an event production company, and in 2009, he was at a meeting planning a large budget birthday party. He came to the meeting and sat down with a husband and wife to plan the husband's party. The man was strong, bulky, and had the hair of a Greek god. Well, a few weeks later, they met again to plan out more details and my dad was shocked to see the man wearing a football jersey. He was shocked because it was the same jersey he had on at the first meeting. At the third meeting the man wore the same jersey.. so my dad finally jumped on Google and searched the name on the back. He typed in Polamalu.

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, my dad was planning the Steelers’ strong safety, Troy Polamalu’s, birthday party.

My dad took that information and shared it with me. I, having no care in the world about football or any loyalty to a team, decided at that moment that I was a diehard Steelers fan. The icing on the cake of that year was the Steelers going to the Superbowl, and me sitting in my grandma's living room watching Santonio Holmes catch the winning touchdown of the game. You should have seen me running around the house after that play. You would have thought I was a Raiders fan with the amount of crazed passion I screamed with in light of their victory!

When we develop relational connections to things, we begin to get passionate about them.

20 years ago, I couldn’t care less about my spiritual depth. Then again, 20 years ago, I barely knew Jesus or spent any consistent time with him. 20 years ago, I couldn’t care less about being the first to apologize to a family member, or the first to seek out restoration in relationships. But then again, 20 years ago, I barely put my relationship with Jesus first in my life.

You see the pattern here? I wasn’t living a life of love and spiritual depth because I didn’t live a life marked by spiritual connection.

Fast forward… I spend time in my life getting to know Jesus. The more I do, I suddenly find myself passionate about being kind and loving toward people. I find myself putting my Bible down in the morning and seeing the world as a broken place that I get an opportunity to step into and bring some order. It’s not just an awareness that comes from spiritual depth, it’s a passion. I am excited to step into my days leading and loving because I finally have a connection to the one that reminds me why it all matters. The second we have a relational connection to something, we begin to get passionate about it.

The gap between wading through the shallows of faith and experiencing a deeply formed life might be 15 minutes. It might be just 15 minutes in your morning to sit with the Good Shepherd. The gap might be deleting Instagram, or turning your phone off until you open your Bible and sit with the Good Shepherd.

Psalm 23 says,

The lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
- Psalm 23:1-4

Know this, there’s a whole world underneath the surface of the Gospel, and I can’t wait to continue getting to know the Good Shepherd who shows it to me, and to you.

DJ Brennan

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