Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. 1 Tim 4:8

Two weeks have passed and another Super Bowl football game is history.  In its wake is the world champion Los Angeles Rams team with it’s beaming fans, and a runner-up Cincinnati Bengals team with fans who would do anything for a second chance.

The effort that went into this year’s Super Bowl extravaganza was no less enthusiastic than those previous. The player and coaching preparations, the heightened media attention, the frenzied fanfare, the high-priced commercials, the spare-no-expense halftime production,  and the finishing drama just begin to describe the ultra-razzle-dazzle this event generated.

Today’s message humbly asks the question, “Then what?” and follows it with a proposition that something far better than a Super Bowl ring is available to each and every one of us.

Yes, the champion Los Angeles Rams will bask in the glory they deserve until training camp rolls around, where they will prepare to defend their title.  Then what?  If they repeat as Super Bowl champions in 2023, they’ll once again bask in glory until it’s training camp, where they’ll repeat preparations to defend their title in 2024.  Then what?  You get the idea.  Being champion is wonderful, but there’s always the daunting… Then what?

As Christians or “players for Christ,” we have a blessed opportunity to be on God’s supernatural team.  Father God (Owner-Coach-Cheerleader of All) is defined as love and scripture says love never fails. Not only that, we are saved by His grace and not required to muscle up or earn our way at a training camp. Our internal training comes after our spirit comes alive in accepting the free gift of Jesus Christ into our heart as Lord and Savior of our lives.  From then on, it’s studying and renewing our mind to know the will and relationship benefits in God’s play book, the Bible.

Let’s imagine for a moment that we are actual players for God. We have spiritual coaches all around us from which to choose. There are assemblies of people available for us to join to thank, praise (cheer), and worship God.  At halftime or any point for that matter, we can decide to get right with God and submit toward His end zone (His will, purpose, and plan) for our lives. Heightened attention to the destiny of spirit, soul, and body is always pressing and competing with world trends, sciences, or philosophies that deny God entirely.

So family and friends, as mind boggling as our preparation and efforts in promoting a sporting event can appear, it pales in comparison to the champion we can be and experience in Christ. After we take our last breath as the clock in our temporal lives runs out, the question becomes, “Then what?”  It is all or nothing. Either we’ll celebrate by entering into a timeless presence with the Hope of Glory or suffer forever, wishing desperately for a second chance.

Before the whistle blows for this week to begin, smile and picture the highest reward of God’s everlasting ring on your finger.

John 8:50-5; 1 Cor 9:23-25; 2 Tim 2:4; Matt 25:21; Heb 12:1-3