From Gresham Hill, Reach Your City President

I was forwarded this article from ESPN by a fellow staff member and was unable to make it through without tears welling up in my eyes (click here to read this article). It was more than just an amazing story, it reminds me, as it should you, that it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). And yes, much to my wife’s chagrin, He can even use football.

Can you relate to this story? Imagine you are in the shoes of these boys in prison. You’ve messed up. Not only have you messed up, but the whole world knows. Can you imagine if your most embarrassing sin went on the 6 o’ clock news tonight? Is it viewing pornography when you were in college? Or did you lie to someone close to you? Whatever it may be, now imagine that you are arrested, put into prison, and branded a sinner and a criminal. You might become bitter. You could become angry. You may become sorrowful. But like the prodigal son that begins to eat from the pig’s trough, you will surely recognize that you’re a sinner. But who do you turn to in your sorrow? Who loves you in this time when the whole world turns it’s back on you? Who can these boys turn to that will show them God’s kindness that leads to repentance?

Enter a football coach. Here is a guy that is not a pastor. He probably has a hard time balancing work and family and life just like the rest of us. But he takes his gifts, his connections, and his influence and he pours them into making heroes out of some lost and lonely boys. He didn’t show them love by preaching in the jails to them (which is a fine thing to do but probably not this coach’s gift). He didn’t show them love by mailing them a Bible or by putting on a special halftime show filled with testimonies. All of those are fine things but that’s not what God led Coach Hogan to do. He simply told Coach Hogan to love these boys in the best way he knew how… football.

What are you doing in your life to show the kindness of God to lost people? Are you a teacher, coach, pastor, doctor, lawyer, garbage man, factory worker, mailman, business man, student? What has God gifted you to do? Read Romans 2:1-11. Now live that out. Don’t wait for me or your pastor or parent to tell you how to live it out. Just live it out. It may lead you to start a Bible study in your neighborhood or feed the homeless next week. You may choose to put on a special event for the community or create a website. Whatever it is. Use your gifts to bring glory to Christ!

No one knew what a young prisoner named Isaiah might say as the football players knelt to pray after the game. But his response displayed to everyone around how God’s kindness can impact a sinner like you or me. “Lord, I don’t know how this happened, so I don’t know how to say thank You, but I never would’ve known there was so many people in the world that cared about us.”