Patrick Mahomes and Our Freedom in Christ
In wake of Kobe Bryant’s death, I’m struck by the influence of professional athletes. They carry great weight and clearly, when tragedy strikes we are moved.
Another influential athlete is Patrick Mahomes, quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. He'll play the game of his life this Sunday in the Super Bowl.
I’ve checked into SportsCenter to learn about this guy and a short news clip grabbed my attention.
Sal Paolantonia, an ESPN National Reporter, shared a conversation he had with Patrick Mahomes and why Coach Andy Reid kept giving to ball to him in their last win against the Packers?
This was Patrick's response:
“Coach Reid allows me to play free, to just be myself out there, and I never feel like I am under any kind of pressure. We believe that everything is possible.”
Whoa, I’m not sure Mahomes' background of faith but the wording of that statement reminded me of the Gospel of Grace.
Playing free reminds me of Galatians 5:1.
Being myself reminds me of 2 Corinthians 5:17.
No pressure reminds me of Matthew 11:28-30.
Everything is possible reminds me of Matthew 19:26.
Earlier that morning I considered places in my life where I’ve lacked freedom so this was on my mind when I saw the clip. One particular area came that I lack freedom is right before I meet with discipleship care recipients. Maybe that's normal and probably is a little weird. In those moments, I struggle with thoughts that hinder freedom, being myself, without pressure and focusing on God doing the impossible.
More specifically, I hear in my head thoughts like:
- Maybe I won’t mess this time up.
- Who am I to helping this person in their faith?
- Great, another opportunity to reveal how inadequate I am.
My friend Jesus has been speaking over those thoughts and it's as if he's saying:
"John, you have so much freedom as you walk into these meetings. So, much, freedom!"
That has put a smile on my face and have sensed greater freedom that has benefited people I meet with.
Freedom is a great word isn’t it? It's a good-news word that has much to say to heavy-laden, over-pressured souls. Eugene Peterson in his book Traveling Light reflects on freedom found in the book of Galatians. Simply put he claims that "freedom is a gift and a skill."
Wait, I agree with that first part but freedom also is a skill? Here's what I think he means. We are free in Christ yet we must align our minds with the reality of our freedom. That is a practiced skill.
Dehomes played with great freedom because of the kind of relationship he had with his coach and himself. In Christ we already have an arrangement of grace and already obtain all spiritual blessings.
He also practices his butt off. Actually, Dehomes was inspired by the work ethic of Kobe Bryant as stated in a recent interview.
We too, are called to a effort. "Stand firm" and "Walk in the Spirit" are two directives in Galatians. Both require practice. We are to set our mind on things above (Col. 3:1-4).
The Christian life is a free life but it requires skill and practice to live in that freedom. It’s not earning anything, but does requires effort to line up our mind with truth.
I’m learning to practice my spin moves around thoughts that pull me down into legalism.
I’m practicing resisting pressure from the defensive line by letting go of ministry outcomes.
In my mind, I am resting in the reality that God is at work. Practicing setting your mind is necessary to interact with God’s redemptive resources.
Here is where the analogy breaks down a bit and an important point:
We don't practice for winning.
We practice from winning.
Because of who we are in Christ, we already win. We are already holy, beloved and victorious.
We are invited to work out our victory and freedom in our everyday thought life. Freedom is ours in Christ. It is actually who we are. I’m lucky, it’s my very name but it's yours too.
So, we can arrange our thought lives in order to experience the victory we already have through the redemptive work of Christ.
Please pray for me in the work of Grace Discipleship. Much of my work is helping people align their daily thought life with the reality of who they are in Christ. It is knowing Him and listening to his words of freedom.
Thank you for reading and may we live free and be our unique selves in Christ. May we live with lightness and know deeply that with God all things are possible.
Finally, I leave you with these simple words from my friend Joseph Suggs:
“The pressure is off but the love is on.”
John F.