Hoosiers

The Indiana Hoosiers are national champions. That statement might make you assume it is April and the conclusion of the basketball season, but it is still January and for the first time Indiana University has won the national college football championship after defeating the Miami Hurricanes 27-21 in the title game. The win carried Indiana to a perfect 16-0 record and sealed one of the most improbable title runs in sports history.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Entering the season, Indiana football had more losses than any other college football program with 717 (it is now second all-time in the dubious category, behind Northwestern). In a remarkable feat, the team did not add a single tally to that loss total. The Hoosiers’ title comes in just the second year for Head Coach Curt Cignetti, and the game’s MVPs were awarded to QB Fernando Mendoza (offensive) and DL Mikail Kamara (defensive).

As a Jesus follower, you might have been for the Hoosiers or you might have been pulling for the Hurricanes (or perhaps, like me, you were for the Illini—another basketball-first school). No matter your rooting preference, this story lends a prescient reminder about our not-so-glittery past. To put it gently, each of us has a history that is less than stellar. Every one of us has sinned and fallen short of God’s magnificent glory (Rom. 3:23).

But that past doesn’t mark or determine your destiny! No matter how bleak your past, you are only one decision of surrender to Jesus away from the promise of being a child of God!

So as you consider this story about an unlikely champion, reflect on your status. It is true: Your past makes you unworthy in and of yourself. But your future is defined not by your past but by your association within the completed work of Jesus on the cross. If you have never surrendered to that victory, make today the day. If you need or desire support in that decision, email theequippednewsletter@gmail.com. Welcome to the family!