Draft Day

The annual extravaganza called “The NFL Draft” is history for another year. Each year all 32 teams in the National Football League line up for the opportunity to select athletes from the current crop of eligible college football players. The selection process cycles through seven rounds before it is complete. Of course, excitement is highest during the first round, when the most gifted athletes are chosen. Teams spend months prior to the draft preparing for that first-round choice. No team wants to make a mistake with so much on the line. The fortunate few who do end up as first-round picks become instant millionaires.

The excitement begins to wane as you move into the later rounds. The marquee names are usually all gone by now. By the time you reach the seventh round, no one but the team executives and die-hard fans are paying much attention. Eventually, you come to “Mr. Irrelevant.” Who is that, you ask? “Mr. Irrelevant” is the last player taken in the draft. The title comes from the fact that a player taken this low in the draft is not expected to make much of a difference for his prospective team. He may not even make the roster. For the record, the 2010 “Mr. Irrelevant” is Tim Toone, a receiver from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.

The Bible uses “draft language” to describe God’s interest in us. “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13). The difference between the NFL draft and the choosing of God is that it is the “draft order” itself that is irrelevant! The last one drafted is just as important to God as the first one drafted. “...He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world...” (Ephesians 1:4). God has no “Mr. (or Mrs.) Irrelevant” on His team! Thank you, God, for choosing me!

God loves you!
Mike