Tony Dungy and Faith

We have in the past two weeks have seen a man's soul exposed to the world in a way that I hope none of us ever have to go through. Tony Dungy is the coach of the Colts and is a Christian, and in the grief of losing a son to suicide has managed to give witness to his faith. In this article, Peter King talks about why Dungy was coaching this past week:

"He said that if he was to be a man of his convictions -- and his convictions are those of a man of God, he could not wallow in his sorrow; he needed to get back to work. If, as he believes, his son is in heaven with his God, then that is something to be celebrated, and Tony wouldn't be doing his duty as a Christian to remain house-bound, mourning. "I had to make a statement as a Christian,'' Dungy said.”As tough as it is, and I discussed it with my wife, I've got to be able to move on.''"

Later in the same article is talking about how he can stay so positive while in the midst of this:

"The Lord's giving me an opportunity to show what my life is about,'' he said. "If I can only show my best foot forward in the good times, then I'm not a very good man.''

That is the most amazing thing I have read after the death of a loved one. We all believe that. We may even think it, and we preachers preach it. But, to hear someone say this, and truly believe it, in the midst of their grief is world changing.

That is what Christianity offers. It is not a bed of roses. It will be hard. As the Lord said, we do not grieve as those who have no hope. This is the kind of faith that can heal the broken. This is the kind of faith that can restore and bring life. This is the kind of faith that can change our world. This is the kind of faith that God offers and we need.

And if we believe in God, really believe in God, we can change our world. This kind of faith can't be contained. Life springs forth, life from death, laughter from tears, salvation.

Do we believe like this? Wow, what grace the Lord longs to give us.