The New York Jets entered the 2023 football season with high expectations after signing all-pro veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers as a free agent in the off-season. Coaches and fans eagerly anticipated the season and were sure this would be their year to go to the Super Bowl.
However, the pre-season hype was short-lived. This past Monday night, in front of a packed MetLife Stadium and over 22 million watching on television, Aaron Rodgers was injured on just the fourth play of the game. Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon, ending his season and fans’ hopes that he would take them to a Super Bowl.
Since a torn Achilles tendon requires surgery and usually a year of rehabilitation, some doubt the 40-year-old quarterback can recover sufficiently to play again. Last Monday night’s NFL game was billed as a must-see sporting event but became one of the sadder stories in recent sports history. Even those who are not New York Jets fans can sympathize with everyone impacted by Aaron Rodgers’ injury.
James 4:13-16 cautions: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.”
Aaron Rodgers’ frustrating experience should remind us of the uncertainty of life. None of us knows what will happen on the next play, at the next intersection, or during tomorrow’s medical test. So, it is imperative that we put our primary hope in God and not in the uncertain trophies of this world.
After sin was introduced into the Garden of Eden, this world became an unsettled, unfair, and often cruel place. So, be realistic about your future plans, and humbly put your hope in that which is eternal and dependable.
That is why Jesus advised us, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus did not say it was wrong to make future plans or to get excited about the future. On the contrary, he taught us to make the most of the talent entrusted to us and encouraged us to calculate costs before starting a project. Yet, each day, we must humbly acknowledge our mortality and reliance on God’s grace.
The Apostle John wrote, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17).
This world is not to be our primary focus because it is temporary, uncertain, and painful. But God is eternal, faithful, and merciful. And, in the end, His judgment will be fair and equitable. When we “Set our minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2), we are better equipped to cope with severe disappointment because we understand this world is not our home. Plus, it allows us to enjoy life’s victories more fully because they are not the source of our identity.
Fanatical fans obsessed with sports are sometimes told to “Get a life!” meaning they should get a higher perspective about what really matters. One of my favorite hymns reminds us of what happens when we gain proper perspective: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.
Jesus summed up this lesson in the Sermon on the Mount: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:33-34).
It wasn’t just Aaron Rodgers whose life was reversed last Monday night. Jets backup quarterback Zach Wilson was suddenly thrust into full-time action on the next play. Surprisingly, Wilson and the Jets rallied to defeat the Buffalo Bills. Wilson went into the game anticipating sitting on the sidelines. Instead, he became the team’s quarterback with very short notice. Who knows what will happen the rest of the season? Life sometimes provides unexpected opportunities also.
I hope Aaron Rodgers completely recovers and comes back strong next year. That would be another inspirational story. Yet, more importantly, I pray he uses the current disappointment to put his ultimate hope in the Lord and that he moves into his future secure in the hope of heaven…because then “the best is yet to be.”
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