HEBREWS - Something SUPER!

Today is Super Bowl Sunday.

Today the New York Giants will be pitted against the New England Patriots in an epic pigskin battle. I don't care so much who's going to win the game.

But yes, I will be watching the game. (After I go to church, of course!)

I am a football fan.

But I've got to tell you, all the *hoopla* that surrounds the game nowadays is crazy. There's so much pre-game hype that the game itself has almost become an afterthought – anticlimactic in comparison to all the "festivities" of the week before.

Goodness!

The Super Bowl is bigger-than-life…or is it?

I can vividly remember an interview with Tom Brady (quarterback for the Patriots) that appeared on the TV show, "60 Minutes" – the link for that interview is here. At the time, he had just turned 30, was earning millions of dollars, and had already won three Super Bowl rings. And yet, something was still missing.

He seemed perplexed when asked what that "something" was.

He answered, "I wish I knew."

How sad.

I am reminded of this verse: "And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?" (Matthew 16:26)

These are the thoughts rambling around in my head on this Super Bowl Sunday.

And it's rather wonder-full that today's "Bible Pick 'Ems" provides the perfect answer to Tom Brady's feeling that there has to something else – something more – to life:

"Now may the God of peace – who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood – may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21)

These verses sum up the true meaning of life.

For one thing, they focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus.

THIS is the moment – the climax – the culmination of history!

And it occurred with no hype, no hoopla. The world wasn't watching, there weren't any commercials, and no one was handing out merchandise. No tickets were offered at exorbitant costs, and most people didn't stop their lives to sit and watch it take place.

But…it did happen.

And it DID change the world.

In these verses we can see three very significant results of God's work through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.

One, God Himself begins a work within us. He starts an inner transformation that lasts our whole lives. We are turned into new creatures that become increasingly more and more like Jesus. God begins to change us into the kind of people who will please Him.

And second, God Himself equips us to do the kind of work that will please Him. I love that! God doesn't expect us to enter into the game of life without first being outfitted with what we need to play the game. To that end, we have been given the Holy Spirit to come alongside us, to empower and strengthen us, to give us both the desire and the will to obey.

Finally, God Himself begins to produce fruit in our lives. On our own, we can do nothing. But because of HIS work in and through us, GOD can accomplish big things. And He does. Look what He did with some of those otherwise *ordinary* people in the Bible! He takes our stories, and molds and shapes and weaves them for His glory.

He transforms – He equips – He produces.

It is all about Him, not us.

I would argue that the *something missing* from Mr. Brady's life – and from most people's lives – is actually Someone. The One and only, the Maker and Sustainer of Life, the Ultimate Reason behind everything – God.

And the *something more* that we all long for is a relationship with God. An intimate, personal, meaningful relationship.

God Himself made that possible through His Son – the Great Shepherd of the sheep –(don't you just LOVE that title??)

Oh yes, I want to do every good thing that is pleasing to Him.

I want to bring Him glory forever and ever.

But, we all have to start at His feet – those broken and bloodied feet at the cross. That's where life begins.

There must be something *more than this…*

Whatever that "THIS" is in a person's life – whether it's fame, fortune, or power – there IS something more. There is Someone bigger than life itself.

If Tom Brady wins his fourth Super Bowl today, then congratulations. But I have to wonder if he's feeling any more fulfilled than he did a few years ago. Or does he still feel empty inside?

I hope he finds an answer.

I pray he finds The Answer.

How has God fulfilled your innermost longings for *something more*?

Linked today with Peggy at SOAKING ON SONDAY

"When in doubt, search God out!"