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In 1985 I was
hit with enormous personal problems. I
was a successful professional footballer.
In contrast, my older brother, Jaime,
struggled through life. He was an alcoholic;
he did not have a lot of money or date
many women; he did not drive a nice car,
and he wasn´t famous. But then he
became a Christian and he stopped drinking.
He still did not have a nice car or much
money, but he had peace in his life; he
was content.
I was famous; I drove a nice car and had
a lot of money. But I didn´t have
peace. So I decided to visit a Protestant
church. During a sermon, the pastor spoke
of Jesus and his act of salvation for
the forgiveness of our sins. Afterwards
he prayed for the physical and spiritual
problems of the church. It touched me
very deeply, and reminded me of the conversion
I had seen in my brother. Right then,
I made a decision for Jesus.
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Immediately after I gave my heart to
God, I got in touch with a group of other
athletes who are committed to Christ.
Some people find it hard to understand
that top footballers are spiritually committed,
but other people react positively. Some
people like our behavior on the field,
and comment on how we are promoting good
fellowship and companionship within the
team.
Even Pele commented on national TV
that he believes in the national team
because of the unity - a sense of togetherness
that he hasn't seen in any other Brazilian
national team. He credits this to the
influence of the footballers committed
to Christ. I always needed to win at
soccer to feel content about myself.
But like Paul says in 2 Corinthians
5:17, "the old has gone and the
new has come". |
| I don't take my identity from soccer
but from God. There are so many people
who want to talk to me because I'm a famous
soccer player, so I share with them about
my faith to God.
I would like to be remembered as an
athlete committed to Christ who used
his sport to proclaim the gospel throughout
the world.
from the Sports
New Testament "Go For It!"
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