Today I came across the great story of Patrick Mannelly. Although seemingly a no-name, Mannelly actually plays for the Chicago Bears and has been there since 1998. How come you’ve never heard of him? Because Mannelly is the long-snapper. In the NFL, the long-snapper is the person who does nothing more than snap the ball to the kicker.
The writer of the article, Rick Paulas, correctly states that a long snapper has “no chance for glory, only infamy. If the long-snapper does his job, the kicker gets the glory.” But as Mannelly is quoted to have said in this article, “As soon as you see the ball go through the uprights and the game is over, that’s the best feeling as a long snapper.” I hope you take the time to read the story in its entirety; it’s a great article.
The writer of the article, Rick Paulas, correctly states that a long snapper has “no chance for glory, only infamy. If the long-snapper does his job, the kicker gets the glory.” But as Mannelly is quoted to have said in this article, “As soon as you see the ball go through the uprights and the game is over, that’s the best feeling as a long snapper.” I hope you take the time to read the story in its entirety; it’s a great article.
I read that and I thought about the Christian life. There are some in Christian circles who desire to hoard all the applause, glory, and praise for themselves. However, a Christian, if behaving correctly, shouldn't receive the glory. We should be little more than a long-snapper. Do our job, and divert all the attention and glory to God. Like the long-snapper, we Christians can also screw up because the snap went way over the kicker’s head. Believe me I can attest that I have had some bad snaps in my time. But God never cuts us from the team, so to speak. We can try again. Every day we have another opportunity to make our kicker, as it were, look good. What an exciting way to live!
Kevin
(“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your Name goes the glory” – Psalm 115:1)
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