My dad, brothers, and I are taking a road trip this weekend. We are heading to University Park, PA to watch my alma mater, Appalachian State (24-point underdogs), attempt to upset Penn State on Saturday.
I enjoy visiting different stadiums around the country, so I'm looking forward to spending the day at Beaver Stadium with some of my Pennsylvania family members.
As excited as I am, I must admit it's hard not to harbor negative feelings toward Penn State when thinking about the Joe Paterno/Sandusky scandal. There is still a negative connotation surrounding the name "Penn State" because of the horrific situation that took place a few years ago.
But I give their current head coach, James Franklin, a lot of credit for turning around the program. The fact that they're now considered one of the best teams in the country is remarkable. Since taking over in 2014, Franklin has led the team to a 36-17 record.
As a football team, they’ve been able to move past the negative history that was attached to them, and the focus is now on their current players and coaches.
This season they are ranked 10th in the preseason polls with their senior quarterback, Trace McSorley, starting the year as a Heisman hopeful. Plenty of optimism surrounds the team. The Penn State football program has new life, and as outsiders looking in, we need to stop associating the present players and coaches with the terrible actions of the old regime and start viewing them for who they are today. (I'm still rooting against them on Saturday when they take on my Mountaineers!) Willingly shifting our mindset to the present can also help us beyond sports. Instead of looking through a lens that links others to their past transgressions, we must make an effort to forgive them for their mistakes so we can have a relationship with who they are now. Thankfully when we become a follower of Jesus, we are a new person and no longer who we used to be. Through God’s grace, we not only move on from our former lives but have an understanding that others are being transformed by the power of Jesus, as well. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:15-17 (NLT), “He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
“So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
Today, let’s drop our labels and attachments based on the past. Instead, let’s embrace the newness of life that comes through Jesus...and view each other through a fresh perspective of grace.
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I’m so grateful for the new life You’ve given me because of Jesus. Help me to accept my new identity and move forward as a new creation. Teach me to show others grace and not focus on their past. I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.
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