I love fall. Crisp,
blustery winds, pumpkin-flavored everything, and college football! I love the
spirited energy that team colors, marching bands, and bigheaded mascot costumes
can create. I love the feats of athleticism that seems almost super human. I love
the rivalries, the traditions, and the underdog upsets. Legendary high school
coach, Harold Jones, said it best, “I love Friday night when you’re looking for
a win, and Saturday when you found one!”
And to think that
back in 1897, just when organized collegiate football was still in its infancy.
It almost came to a screeching halt.
On October 30th,
the University of Georgia played the University of Virginia. Early in the
second half, Richard Gammon, an 18-year-old fullback was injured during a tackle.
Gammon died the following day on October 31, due to a severe head injury. Both
teams were devastated. The state of Georgia was in upheaval. Immediately, a
billed passed the Georgia Senate banning the sport of football in the entire
state. The only thing needed to convert the bill into law was the signature of
the Governor. That’s when something truly unimaginable happened. Gammon’s
mother, grief-stricken, decided to write a letter to her representative. In
her letter Rosalind Gammon requested that her son’s death “not be used for an
argument detrimental to the athletic cause and its advancement at the
University.”
As a parent, it’s
unfathomable to me that just three weeks after losing her son, Rosalind Gammon
wrote, “Grant me the right to request that my boy's death should not be used
to defeat the most cherished object of his life.”
Can you imagine the
love and respect for her son it must have taken to write those words?
“Please do not let
his name be used to destroy what he loved.”
I don’t know a lot
about football, and I know even less about the Bible, but I know that God loves
me, because he willingly & willfully gave His son to save me. I know the nearest
and dearest things to God’s heart are not His laws, they are His people. Laws
are to teach, guide and protect. It is the “how”. Love is the “why”. Romans 5:8
says, “But God demonstrates his own
love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
I have considered
myself a “Christian” for several years now. But how many times have used my
Christianity to validate cause to judge someone, to withhold acceptance, to
guard a standard that Christ himself never set.
In the moments
where my Christian views might even be legitimate, my criticism might be
warranted; I wonder how many times Christ has said, “Please do not let my name
be used to destroy what I love.”
I am proud to be a
part of a church that reaches out to the un-churched. This doesn’t make church
easy. More times than not, “Biblical truth” and “Christ-like grace” appear to
be opposing viewpoints. Yet Christ embodied them both.
You might have
guessed this already, but upon reading the letter from Gammon’s mother, the
Governor of the State of Georgia vetoed the bill banning football.
And out of love and
respect for Christ’s sacrifice, as Christians, we are obligated to do the same.
We can’t hold onto policies and forget to give grace. We can’t represent Christ
and repel the un-churched.
We cannot let His
name be used to destroy who He loves.
