The Gift of Hope

The Gainesville State Tornados ripped through a huge banner with their team name on it as the charged onto the football field. The Gainesville athletes ran through a tunnel of 300 cheering fans as they heard people cheering their names, calling our their numbers, cheering them on as they played against Grapevine Faith Christian School. They played their hearts out, it turned out to be the best game of their season: they lost 33-14. But the most amazing part of the story? These athletes are from the Juvenile Corrections Center, and their “fans” were parents of the Grapevine team.

Grapevine coach Kris Hogan wanted to do something special for these players. Hogan saw a team that the world had given up on, a team that had no hope. They were in the system for assault, drugs, robbery, and the world had simply written them off. Hogan took matters into his own hands: he asked half of their fans to cheer for the opposing team and go out of their way to help the Gainesville players have hope. The Grapevine players (and their parents) were confused; “Why would we cheer for the other team?” But Hogan responded, “Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you." Imagine what a difference it could make! And the fans responded: they painted posters, memorized rosters, recruited cheerleaders. The Tornados responded by playing better than they had all year, doubling their touchdown total. As they walked off the field, heads held high while under guard, they were handed sacks of burgers, fries, and a Bible with an encouraging letter inside. The Gainesville players returned to their life in prison.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us." Hogan told reporters he was glad their heads were bowed so no one could see his tears.

Isn’t the power of hope amazing? Isn’t it amazing to see how lives can change when someone starts believing in you? When one person gives you hope and a chance to succeed? This is the power of the Gospel! As Jesus talks about his true followers, he tells them that when we visit those in prison (or do other good deeds), we did them for him. When we serve the “least of these,” we are serving Jesus.

As Christians we are called to show the world that there is hope. We are called to make a difference by touching the lives of those that the world has written off. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to bless the less fortunate, to cheer on the brokenhearted, to encourage the downtrodden… We are called to be messengers of hope to the world. Let’s get out there and cheer them on in the name of Jesus; I’m sure people will respond.

(Excerpts taken from Rick Reilly, ESPN)