Football… You… And… Me

SAT., SEPT. 11, 1999, 1:45 PM
OFFICE, PULLIAM

The commencement of your career was, in spirit, as a football coach. You were 22 years old, with no coaching experience, and you had your chance. Playing football had been fun for you, even as you were far from a “star.” You wanted to “give something back” for the pleasure and rewards that came from even a non-spectacular “career” as a player. You had that chance, and in six years, total of coaching, you gave of yourself, and you inspired players to do, comparably.

Football is still an interest of yours, but you are purposely missing the first part of today’s game in order to be here with Me. Is anything like We do together related to football? You are ready to listen and hear.

A football game has a certain length, in minutes of actual official playing time, but it’s length can actually vary with… timeouts, penalties, and other happenings “not include on the clock.” Your life has a certain length, but is extended by certain factors. The “timeouts” of football could be comparable to these times you spend with Me, in direct Teachings and in re-reading earlier Teachings. The time for such is “not counted” as time in your life, so the more you come to Me, in either of these ways, the longer you will continue this life a Bob Russell. This, of course, can’t be proven, so you’ll just have to accept it as “given from above.”

As a high school player you ended your career as a co-captain, and one who played every minute of every game. The comparable symbolic action in this phase of Bob Russell’s life would be your dedicating your life to Me, fully, with faith that I shall and will let you live as long as is right for you. Live fully for Me, not for the medical maintenance of a longer earth life. If you do opt for a treatment, approach it with the faith that I can use it, rather than the premise that you need something beyond My capacities.

In football, most games are won by one team, and lost by the other. Earth life also has the “win-lose” quality to it. You feel that you have been… and I affirm that I see you as… a winner, all along, but particularly in these last years as a professor. There were a few tough times, but it was mostly clear that you were a “winner.” Just as the quarterback (or, sometimes, the coach) selects plays and the team executes these, so you chose institutions, programs, and special courses as vital to the development of your career. Mostly, you “called signals” well, and your career was a “winner.” Oh, you were not “playing against” a particular foe, but, rather, against general apathy, lack of interest, and time pressures in students. You feel that, while not perfect, you did inspire some students and at least awakened some more. Just as every play in football is not one to score, so you didn’t inspire every student, even as you were, in total, winning.

( 2:18 / 2:25 )

Football, as it is most generally played, is before a crowd of people. It is not a game played alone… or without fans, of one side of the other. You come to Me as part of an established and recognized church… Presbyterian. You do not relish being a single player, not “connected” to others. There are other religions, denominations, and sects, that are part of the “body,” of which you are a part. Yet, while football is a team game, every now and again there appear “stars,” who contribute more, directly, to winning, than other team members. They need the team, as you need your “church family,” but their contributions are unique and important. Your church doesn’t recognize you as such as asset, but… I do.