Mr. Relevant

By David A. Sargent       Earlier in this year’s NFL football season he was known as “Mr. Irrelevant.”  That moniker is tagged onto the last pick of the NFL draft; that’s when Brock Purdy was drafted.  But the moniker doesn’t seem to fit the rookie quarterback anymore.     After two quarterbacks got injured earlier in the season, Purdy became the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, and they are about to play for the NFC Conference Championship.  If they win this game, they go to the Super Bowl.     But for Purdy, it’s not all about football.     “It’s been football, man,” Purdy said Thursday. “I don’t try to make it more than it is. I’m a faith-based guy, so that’s how I stay grounded. I don’t look at football like it’s literally everything. It’s (not) do or die or anything like that.     It’s a game and it’s my job, for sure, and I take it very seriously, but at the end of the day, I know that I’m not defined by the wins or losses as a person, like, that’s not who I am. I’m not just a quarterback. I wasn’t born to just to be a quarterback and play football, and that’s it. Like, I have a life and everything like that.     And I remember that, but at the same time, man, I’m a competitor. I love to compete. I want to win at all costs and so, I’ve been enjoying that as well, so that’s where I’m at. That’s how I stay grounded with it all, but I’m definitely thankful and blessed to be here.”     That’s a unique perspective for a rookie quarterback who has a good chance of playing in the Super Bowl.  When and how did he develop this kind of perspective?     Purdy spoke with Sports Spectrum in 2021 about a pivotal moment in his life.  At the conclusion of a difficult first week of football camp at Iowa State, Purdy said that he got on his knees and asked God to forgive him for putting the sport he loved ahead of his relationship with God.     "It was just a great reminder of where my identity is, where it lies," he said. "And it’s in Jesus. And I continue to lean on Him. Again, the next day I didn’t go out and throw for 500 yards and was this awesome quarterback, but it was just this peace that I had with Him knowing that, ‘Hey, no matter what I’m going to face moving forward during college football, God and Jesus are going to be my identity. And whatever I face, I won’t be shaken from it.’ I’ve got a great foundation in Him."     Jesus is the right Foundation.  He’s the only Foundation that will withstand the storms of life and enable us to live in heaven for eternity.  Please read Matthew 7:24-27.     Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), but God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16) so that we can have forgiveness and life through Him (Romans 6:23).     God will save, set on the right Foundation, and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).     “Mr. Irrelevant” finds his relevance in Christ.  May we also find our relevance in the most Relevant one of all: Jesus.

- David A. Sargent, minister for the Church of Christ at Creekwood in Mobile, Alabama, is also the editor of an electronic devotional entitled "Living Water." To learn more about this excellent resource contact David via their website: http://www.creekwoodcc.org   * Information gleaned from “49ers' Brock Purdy receives praise for keeping his faith in the picture ahead of NFC title” by Ryan Gaydos, www.foxnews.com, and “'Poised' rookie QB Brock Purdy leads 49ers to NFC West title with his identity in Christ” by Kevin Mercer, www.sportsspectrum.com.