By Doug Greengard
Christian Sports Minute
October 24, 2002

(AgapePress) - On the football field, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila shows no mercy to his foes. As one of the National Football League’s top pass rushers, his mission is to sack the opposing quarterback. In 2001, his second NFL season, the Green Bay Packers 6-4, 255-pound defensive end notched a team-high 13½ sacks, fourth most in the league.

While Gbaja-Biamila’s great speed allows him to be almost merciless to those he lines up against, he is even quicker to share with others the grace of God that has touched his life in an incredible way.

"When I came to the Green Bay Packers, I was a Muslim," says Gbaja-Biamila, a fifth-round draft choice in 2000. "I tried to do it myself for 22 years and realized that my ways weren’t working. I heard about Jesus and I said, 'Let me try it His way.'"

"It didn’t change me overnight, but little by little He began changing me," he says. "And then I fell in love with Him to the point now where I just want to share my testimony with everybody about what Jesus did for me."

By following Jesus Christ, Gbaja-Biamila learned what it means to be saved by God’s grace. Now, he is focused on an increasingly deeper personal relationship with the Lord.

"All I want to do is please Him," adds the former San Diego State University standout, who holds the Aztecs career sack record (33). "I have to trust that He has the best for me. He loves me more than I could ever love myself, more than my wife could love me, more than my earthly father -- and I know he loves me."

There are occasions when Gbaja-Biamila does not have a great desire to play football. There are similar days, he says, in his walk with the Lord. The answer for both is the same.

"You don’t focus on what you see, you focus on the instruments," adds Gbaja-Biamila. "The Bible is the instrument. We have to trust God’s Word no matter if we feel like doing something or not. Obeying God has nothing to do with feelings. It’s all about being in Him and obeying His commandments. I’m keeping my eyes on my first love, and that’s Jesus Christ."

Notch another sack for Gbaja-Biamila. This one is for God’s team.

Doug Greengard directs Christian Sports Minute, a ministry that uses the testimonies of sports and well-known sports figures as a vehicle to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

© 2002 AgapePress all rights reserved.

 

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