The biggest NFL story this season is how the Baltimore Ravens are dominating with second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson. Electrifying to watch, Jackson has put up outrageous passing and rushing stats and has become the favorite to win the MVP.

What makes this so captivating is the fact that the former Heisman Trophy winner was overlooked by most teams, with four quarterbacks being drafted before him. Many scouts, coaches, and analysts didn’t believe in Jackson as an NFL quarterback.

However, head coach John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens bought into him so much that they traded up to draft him and ultimately traded away their Super Bowl-winning QB, Joe Flacco.

Since making the switch at QB, the Ravens have won 14 of 17 regular-season games. Even when Jackson didn’t play well in the playoffs last year, they stuck with him and remained all-in.

The Ravens didn’t ask Jackson to fit into a system they already had, but built their team around him as the focal point instead. Now they are seeing the fruit from their commitment and loyalty.

In an in-depth article about this story on ESPN.com, John Harbaugh said this about Jackson:

“…there’s a trust there because he knows we believed in him when not too many other people did. We didn’t go halfway with him. We didn’t dip our toe.”

Joshua Harris, Jackson’s personal QB tutor growing up, made this comment:

“Coach Harbaugh showed he was all-in [during that playoff game], and Lamar loved that…Lamar’s biggest thing is loyalty, and he loves to see his loyalty reciprocated…The greatest thing I’ve seen from Coach Harbaugh is he’s bought into who Lamar is.”

So much of the verbiage in this story provides a picture of what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus. Even when others may not believe or discredit Jesus, we buy-into who He is and what He’s capable of doing.

We don’t want to go halfway with our personal relationship or only dip our toe, but rather build our entire life around Him. Instead of trying to make Jesus fit into our lives, we need to choose to fit into His system and embrace His way of doing things.

Romans 12:1 (AMP) tells us, “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.”

Even when life gets tough, we don’t need to waver or go back to our “old quarterback,” but go all-in with full trust. By removing anything that gets in the way of Jesus being the focal point of our lives, we’ll see the fruit of our commitment and loyalty to Him.

Colossians 2:6-7 (NLT) says, “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I pray that my life would be totally centered around Jesus and built on Him. I pray I’d be all-in and not hold back from the life You have for me. Help me not to worry about what others say, but fully trust in who You are and what You’re capable of doing. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Discussion Questions for PACKS: