Friday Night Lights!

It’s football season! Parents and teens across the nation have been waiting months for the weather to turn cooler, the sun to set sooner, and the games to transition from the green and brown diamond of baseball to the zebra-striped field of football.

Jake Olson’s family is no exception. Jake plays for USC and made his live-game debut as the long snapper on Saturday night during the season-opening game against Western Michigan. Number 4 USC had struggled a bit against the unranked Broncos and as the 4th quarter started, the teams were tied at 21. The challenge pretty much ended there as USC raked in another 27 points in the next 10 minutes to Western Michigan’s mere 10.

That’s when the magic happened.

If you follow sports at all, you probably already know the context of this story. Jake Olson, who has been blind since age 12 and had both eyes removed because of retinal cancer, trotted onto the field to snap the extra point. The snap was perfect.

Jake Olson lives Philippians 4:13. As good as that is, the students, coaches, referees and fans of both the Trojans and Broncos lived in that moment, the perfect definition of God’s love – everyone cheered for USC’s Jake Olson, even special teams PAT free safety Davontae Ginwright who can be seen applauding wildly after the kick.

Even after a contentious game where the upstart Western Michigan tried to ruin perennial powerhouse USC’s chance at a title run in the first outing of the season, our true human nature shone bright in that one moment. God’s love, exemplified in struggle, laid bare in sport, outshined Friday night’s lights.

Lord, let me trust in you and be as faithful to you in life as Jake Olson is in football.

I can do all things through him who gives me strength – Philippians 4:13. (NIV)