A Giant Hole

I’m going to bet you that there are some sorrowful New York Giants out there. That might seem a little odd considering that every media outlet is glowing over and celebrating the accomplishment of the G-men. Of course, winning the Super Bowl is a legitimate occasion for celebration (see previous blog). You will find few more blogs celebrating the Giants victory (errrr Patriots loss) more than Sweet Emotion. It was one of the greatest Super Bowls of my lifetime.

With that being said, I’m willing to suggest that some of the New York Giants players and fans woke up on Monday morning with an empty sadness. And that emptiness has been echoing throughout the week. It might echo ever so quietly, or it might hit like a ton of bricks. However, there is something sobering about finally obtaining that “thing” which you thought would finally bring fulfillment and happiness. Because when you obtain it, it does not do that which you thought it would. On the other side of the realization, is sometimes a dark and depressing reality.

Few of us have ever really gotten that “thing”, so we have never felt the emptiness of it. Listen to someone who has been there.

World Magazine highlighted the story of Daniel Naulty who pitched 4 years in the big leagues of baseball. He pitched 3 for the Twins before joining the New York Yankees for their championship run. Nault’s deepest despair came immediately following the World Series win. As he was riding home in a limo following the post-game celebration the echo of emptiness began to reverberate, and despair set in. He asked the driver, “is this all there is to life?”

To quote World Magazine “in the following days, that question continued to haunt Naulty. ‘I thought the World Series was going to be God; it was going to be salvation.’ He recalls. ‘And I realized after we won that it wasn’t salvation. It was still in the exact same placed I was two weeks ago, two months ago, or two years ago.”

Or listen to Tom Brady’s words from a 60 Minutes interview and feel the slight tinge of emptiness.

Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what is.’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. I think, ‘God, it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t, this can’t be, what it’s all cracked up to be.

Jesus tells us in John that He is the bread of God come down from heaven to give life. Indeed, only when our relationship with God is made right by the finished work of Jesus can we experience real life. With Christ as one’s identity and final goal, one can say with Paul, "in whatever situation I am to be content. " The only unshakeable “thing” is the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s why Augustine can say “you made us for yourself, and our hearts find no peace till they rest in you.