He. Could. Go. All. The. Way!

Are you ready for some football?  ​Each year the NFL crowns a champion in what fans lovingly call “The Big Game.” Last year’s Super Bowl was the most-watched television event in American history with 127.7 million viewers.  Will you be numbered among the millions tuning in this year?  After two weeks of buildup and anticipation, this year’s matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots takes center stage on Sunday.  Super Bowl Sunday is all about victory. Two teams prepare all season for one game, one moment, one trophy. Fans hope, cheer, and trust that this will finally be the year. (Unless, of course, you’re a fan of one of our pathetic, local NY teams.)  But even the best team can lose. One play can change everything. An interception. A missed field goal. One mistake can undo months of preparation. One thing is for certain... come late Sunday night, one team and fanbase will be ecstatically celebrating a Super Bowl victory; the other, not so much.
 
As believers in Christ, we gaze at a victory far greater and far more certain than any football championship. Repeatedly in scripture, we are reminded that the struggles we face in life—sin, suffering, doubt, fear—have already been decisively defeated in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, the outcome is not in doubt. There is no overtime, no last-second collapse, no heartbreaking loss. No sitting on the edge of our seat, nervously chomping on our fingernails. Spoiler alert! The outcome is already known. At the cross, Jesus definitively took on sin, death, and the devil—and in His resurrection, He won decisively—for all time and for all people. The score wasn't even close!  The Apostle Paul doesn’t encourage the churching by saying that God might give us victory, or that we have to earn it, train for it, work really hard for it.  He says God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Book it. Count on it. It'd one. That’s good news, especially when life feels more like a losing season than a championship run. When guilt weighs heavy, when grief lingers, when fear whispers that the score is already decided—Jesus reminds us that the game is over, and He has already won. “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:57)
 
Super Bowl victories fade. Team championship apparel wears out. Records are broken.  Powerhouse teams and dynasties eventually start to age or get broken up. The banners may stay up in the rafters, but the fanbase quickly moves into a “What about next year?” mindset. But Christ’s victory is eternal. Baptized into Him, we live every day knowing that forgiveness is ours, death is defeated, and our future is secure—not because of our performance, but because of His. So… enjoy the game. Or the commercials. Or the food. Or the halftime hoopla. Take it all in. Cheer loudly. Stuff your faces. Celebrate the spectacle of it all. But remember... long after the trophy is handed out, the stadium is empty, and the confetti has all been cleaned up... the greatest victory still stands—Jesus Christ is risen! 

​We are the victors, redeemed and forgiven.