Former Saints quarterback, Drew Brees, has achieved iconic status for me and the people of New Orleans. Since his arrival in 2006, he gave my hometown city its first Super Bowl championship. His leadership and symbiotic relationship with New Orleans Saints head coach, Sean Payton, made the team a perennial contender until he retired in 2020. During his tenure, he became one of the few quarterbacks to have over 5,000 yards passing in multiple seasons.
In addition to his on-field accomplishments, Brees has been at the forefront of many charitable initiatives to assist the citizens of the Big Easy. He gave much-needed financial help during Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Ida. Without a doubt, his presence on the football field — not to mention his infectious pregame chants — will be sorely missed.
Recently, Coach Payton chose to hand over the reins at the center of the offense to 27-year-old Jameis Winston, a six-year NFL veteran and a former quarterback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even with his experience, many football analysts and fans still consider him as “wet behind the ears.” As a Buccaneer, Winston was a schizophrenic game manager who was prone to throw interceptions. He also exhibited, quite frankly, juvenile behavior, which cost his team potential wins.
However, Coach Payton, a former quarterback himself and a master of molding passers, sees something in Winston. During this preseason, Winston has redeemed himself. This Sunday, in his first regular-season start as a Saint, he can prove his detractors are incorrect in their assessment.
The word saint derives from the word sanctify. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, to sanctify is “to set apart to a sacred purpose or religious use.” As New Orleans Saint Winston battles on the gridiron, there’s another battle waging. This one is an unseen, spiritual war between good and evil. The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
Another Head Coach, God, is looking to set apart a younger generation of saints, of “warriors.” The Apostle Peter says of them in 1 Peter 2:9-10, “…for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. ‘Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.’”
God led the prophet, Joel, to write in Joel 2:28 of a time when He says, “I will pour out My Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.” Such a time has arrived. He beckons young men and women to continue the legacies of other young and stalwart biblical figures such as:
- Joseph – at 17 years old, God spoke to him in dreams and would become second in command in Egypt years later to save his family and the Israelites from starvation (see Genesis 37:1-10, 41:37-46)
- Samuel – God called him to be one of His prophets when he was 11 or 12 years old (see 1 Samuel 3:1-19)
- David – the prophet, Samuel, anointed him at 15 years old as a future king of Israel (see 1 Samuel 16:1-13)
- Esther – became the Queen of Persia at 14 years old (see Esther 2:16-18)
- Josiah – the youngest king of Jerusalem at eight years old (see 2 Kings 22:1-2)
- Jeremiah – God commissioned him between 13 and 16 years old to minister to the people of Israel (see Jeremiah 1:4-8)
- Mary – God chose her at about 14 years old as the vessel through which Jesus Christ would come into the world (see Luke 1:26-38)
- Timothy – the Apostle Paul ordained him as a minister around his late teens to early 20s (see 1 Timothy 1:18-19)
Timothy’s mentor, the Apostle Paul, admonished him in 1 Timothy 4:12, “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.”
To my brothers and sisters of the Millennial and Centennial generations, you’re ambassadors of heaven to lead the next charge. God will give you new methods to spread the same message: Jesus saves, and there’s no other name under heaven by which humanity can have salvation (Acts 4:12). Refuse to let others dissuade you from embracing these methods fully.
As God said in Joshua 1:9, I say to you, “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go.” In the words of 1 Peter 3:15-16, be ready to give an answer about the hope that’s within you and do it with gentleness and respect. I stand with you. I believe in you because God believes in you. He’ll make you victorious in whatever He leads you to do.
Onward, young soldiers! Let’s geaux!
You’re Saints. For. Life.
