Seeing God in The Steeler win.......

I was parked in front of Shop'n Save Monday morning listening to a talk show host on KDKA radio talking about the relationship that a football team has with the Pittsburgh community. The talk show host had a completely different spin on that relationship and why it exists.

He said the fans attach themselves to the Steeler team because the attributes that make the team successful are the same attributes that the fans aspire to. The fan sees sacrifice, love, dedication, brotherhood and teamwork. They see the pain and agony that it takes achieve such monumental success and in the end when the success comes they are attached to it because that's what they want to have and that's what they want to identify with. They call it Steeler nation. 350,000 fans from all over the country came to Pittsburgh on Tuesday for a parade to celebrate the Steeler victory.

Why does this happen? I've heard people over the years say something like, "why can't people get excited about Jesus the same way?" Inherent in that question is an obvious criticism of Christianity and the church. Now that I have lived a few years I consider that kind of condescending statement as one that misses the point.

I am seeing God more in life than ever before and because of that I can appreciate the little things more. All of those attributes that I mentioned above are the attributes of Jesus. People identify with those attributes when presented in real life and in a non-religious setting. I am not recommending that we all stop going to church and watch football but what I am saying is that if we open our eyes that we might see the real reason why all of this happens to a community like Pittsburgh. God has made man to achieve, to sacrifice, and to love. He has called us to loyalty and faithfulness. When I see people celebrating victory it warms my heart. It's exhilarating and all of those feelings and desires were to given to us by our loving creator. He must have wanted us to have them. And so to the Glory of God, behold the Lord when victory comes in any endeavor in life and thank Him for such a gratifying feeling. When I see God in life I can rejoice with any one's success because that was part of His master plan to edify us and give us hope.

So, Here We Go Steelers! Here We Go!