Note: This is a slightly revised version of an article I wrote for my Sunday School newsletter in the fall of 2005. I am a member of a different church now (St. Innocent Orthodox Church), but the principals remain the same.
As
I write this [in the fall of 2005], the “buzz”[1]
in high school football is that the Dublin High School “Fighting Irish” is 7-0
and hasn’t been scored upon. If they
finish the regular season undefeated and without allowing any points, though,
they won’t be setting a Georgia High School Association record. That feat was first accomplished in 1984 by
the Manchester High School “Blue Devils.”
I
graduated from Mary Persons High School (MPHS), and Manchester is our archrival.
In 1984, MPHS had a bad year, finishing
the regular season with a 7-3 record. Meanwhile, Manchester finished the season 10‑0,
unscored upon, and ranked #1 in the polls. And they finished the regular season by
beating Mary Persons 9-0.
We
had to play them again the next Friday night in the first round of the region playoffs.
That week, MP’s normally faithful fans
seemed resigned to defeat – nobody around town talked about beating Manchester
– they would be happy if MP could just score on Manchester.
The
first quarter ended in a hard-fought but scoreless tie.
Early
in the second quarter, however, MP had a long gain – I can’t remember if it was
a run or a pass – and had first and goal on about the Manchester 5-yard line.
On
first down, MP tried a run up the middle. Manchester’s outstanding defense rose to the
occasion and stopped the play for no gain. On second down, the MP quarterback faked a
handoff up the middle, and again, the Manchester defense swarmed the running
back. But the MP quarterback still had
the ball, standing all alone in his backfield, with all the time in the world
to find a receiver. And an MP receiver
was all alone in the right corner of the end zone. You could almost hear the violins playing in
the sports movie that should be made about that game. An easy throw and catch, and Manchester’s
amazing unscored-upon streak was over.
You
would have thought we had just won the state championship – the MP fans were
jubilant! Several were slightly injured,
in fact, when one of the temporary stands broke due to the excessive
celebration. And the goal changed. All of a sudden, scoring upon Manchester
wasn’t enough – now, we had to beat them. Manchester tied the game at 7-7 before
halftime, but on their initial drive of the second half, the Blue Devil offense
fumbled the ball away. The mighty
Manchester defense rose to the occasion, stopping the Mary Persons drive, but
we were already in field goal range, and the kick gave us a 10-7 lead. That was the final score, in one of the most
dramatic upsets in local football history.
What
does a high school football game decades ago have to do with Christian living? In our lives, we face trials and tribulations
despite trying to do our best in living for Christ. Meanwhile, we see those around us who clearly
aren’t Christians, or claim to be Christians, but certainly aren’t trying to
live for Christ, and it seems that everything goes their way. It certainly doesn’t seem fair. In Romans 5:3-5, we read, “And not only so,
but we glory in tribulations also: knowing
that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience,
hope: And hope maketh not ashamed;
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is
given unto us.”
As
Paul wrote, we grow in patience, experience, and hope (or faith) as we endure
testing and tribulations. Untested faith
is unproven faith, potentially weak faith that may fail us when adversity comes.
Manchester’s offense wasn’t tested
during the 1984 regular season – since the defense never gave up any points,
the offense never had to come from behind. When the test finally came, in the first round
of the region playoffs, their offence failed. What had seemed to be a blessing ultimately
led to their defeat.
Manchester
was the favorite to win the 1984 state championship. Instead, Mary Persons won the South Georgia
title, losing to West Rome 14-7 in the championship game. The MP fans enjoyed the glory, while the
Manchester fans were left to contemplate what might have been. As we read in James 1:12, “Blessed is the man
that endureth temptation: for when he is
tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them
that love him.” If our trials, or
“temptations,” lead to our growth in Christ, we will be blessed and “receive
the crown of life.” Our eternal reward
in the age to come is certainly worth some temporary trials and tribulations in
this present age.
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