My family went to church weekly, and I sincerely desired to please God with my life. However, when I was in college on a football scholarship, I discovered that my desire to please others was stronger. I battled to please God and others, succeeding in being a hypocrite. Football became the focus of my life. Through time and football injuries, I was failing in football and miserable in my relationships. Everything seemed conditional, based upon how I performed on the field. Why was I one person at home and another person at school?
The answer came after graduation. At a large group Bible study I was attending, I realized that although I was spiritual, I had not established a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by coming to that one-time point in my life where I surrendered my will and asked Jesus to forgive me of all my sins.
By faith, I asked Christ to pay the price—death—that I owed for my sin (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). There is so much pressure in the NFL. Performance is the bottom line. Christ gives me peace even when I get injured or don’t perform well. He calms me down and reminds me that He is always in control.
Written by Dan Kreider, Running Back for the Pittsburgh Steelers
