What Damar Hamlin’s Collapse Should Lead Us to Do

I don’t typically watch every Monday Night Football game, but this week’s game caught my interest because of the matchup between 2 teams fighting for playoff seeding. So, I decided to watch the game.

Of course, I don’t need to tell you that the game never finished on Monday night. The game was cancelled. Both teams had scored points, but the game was way too early to determine who was even playing better.

Then, something that I cannot get out of my head occurred, because I saw it live. Damar Hamlin made a routine tackle, got up to prepare himself for the next play, and then immediately collapsed. That image of his collapse is ingrained in my memory. I keep replaying it in my head.

When they showed the replay for the 1^st time, I knew it wasn’t good. It was like his body went limp and the way Hamlin hit the ground seemed to indicate he needed help of a drastic nature. It didn’t look like a football injury but an internal organ failure of some kind.

The rest of the night, sports commentators shared their perspective, but were clearly uncomfortable and shocked by the events. You could detect the concern on their faces.  

One minute, this young man was living his dream of playing professionally football, earning money to provide for his family and support others who helped him achieve this dream. And in a matter of seconds, he was fighting for his life…and still is.

Life can change that fast.

In Psalm 39:4-5, David wrote, “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know who fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath.”

David is saying, “My days are so brief in light of eternity. They are like one of the smallest kinds of measurements.” Job prays this way to himself in light of his sufferings, “Oh, remember that my life is a breath! …” (Job 7:7).

People get ready, Jesus is coming soon, and some of us will be going home. And some won’t.

What are you going to do to prepare for eternity? And most importantly, what is your destination? Corrie Ten Boom, who was a Dutch Christian that famously saved countless Jews during the Holocaust, said, “The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation.” Your donation on earth – what you do with Christ – will determine your destiny.  

Please get right with God. Please make sure you know Jesus as Your Lord and Savior. Please be ready for the second God calls you from this place to the next eternal destination.