Have you heard about Mr. Irrelevant?
For those of you who follow the National Football League you probably have, but Mr. Irrelevant was a new one for me.
Recently Jimmy Garoppolo, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, was injured during a game. The backup quarterback, Brock Purdy, came in and helped win the game. I began seeing headlines that said, “Mr Irrelevant is Relevant.” What? What did that mean?
I googled Mr. Irrelevant and found out it is a nickname designated for the very last man picked in the NFL draft. Mr. Irrelevant also gets a trophy! Instead of the Heisman (not meant to be HIGH-sman, but pronounced that way just the same), Mr. Irrelevant gets a LOW-sman trophy! The trophy depicts a player fumbling the ball. This Mr. Irrelevant thing just made me happy.
I often find myself rooting for the underdog and Mr. Irrelevant can’t get any lower!
One night a little baby was born. He didn’t come into this earth HIGH as a rich king. He came in LOWly and unassuming — in a barn’s manger. And it was not a fumble the Father was committing that night. He was sending in the Savior. He was sending in the Game-winner. That was the good news the angels brought.
It turns out Mr. Irrelevant is a good lesson for us. It seems Jesus also roots for the underdog, for the irrelevant. “While we were still irrelevant, Christ died for us.” It is solely because of His great love for us that we matter to Him. And that is something that should make us happy.
And I will just say it . . . it’s Purdy amazing!