Seth Udinski, FISM News
Tom Brady’s controversial 23rd season in the NFL continued this morning with a rough 24 hour span, as the future Hall of Fame quarterback has been struggling both on and off the field.
On the field, Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped their third straight contest last night, falling at home to the Baltimore Ravens 27-22 on Thursday Night Football. The team sits at 3-5, and for the first time in Brady’s brilliant career, he is now two games under .500 in the regular season.
The defending NFC South Champions entered the 2022 season as early-season favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, but many are questioning now if they will even make the playoffs. The silver lining for the Bucs is that they play in a weak division and sit only a half-game out of first place, behind the 3-4 Atlanta Falcons.
All this comes in a season where allegations have swirled that Brady and his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, are facing insurmountable marital strife. Those allegations were confirmed Friday morning when TMZ Sports reported that Brady and Bundchen are indeed signing divorce papers.
#BREAKINGNEWS: Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady Filing For Divorce Today https://t.co/UIJnTnWAMX
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 28, 2022
“We arrived at this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together,” Brady said in a statement. “Doing so is, of course, painful and difficult, like it is for so many people who go through the same thing every day around the world. However, we wish only the best for each other as we pursue whatever new chapters in our lives that are yet to be written.”
Fans have speculated that Brady’s refusal to retire is the reason why the couple is severing their 13-year marriage.
In September, Bundchen shared in an interview,
This is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like him to be more present. I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again. But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for [them]. He needs to follow his joy, too.
Many have come to Bundchen’s defense, arguing that her request is reasonable, especially considering that Brady has established himself as the unquestioned greatest quarterback in NFL history and is still competing at an age when most players have been retired for several years.
Author’s Biblical Analysis
After Brady won his third Super Bowl ring with the New England Patriots in 2005, he did an interview on “60 Minutes.” In the interview, he shared that even though he had accomplished more athletic success in such a short time than virtually anyone else, he was not satisfied. He said, “There has got to be something more.”
The interviewer asked him what that might be, and the 27-year-old Brady said this:
I wish I knew.
Now, at 45 and with more success and accolades than perhaps any other professional athlete in history, Brady is beginning to come face-to-face with the sad reality that awaits us all — Everything we have in this life, be it skill or trophies or money or relationships, will someday run out.
The question that we all must ask, and one that hopefully Brady is approaching as he comes to terms with the inevitable end of his football career, as well as his marriage, is this: Where is your satisfaction?
At the end of all things, every single one of us will stand bare before the Holy God of the Universe and give an account of what we have done. At that moment, our accomplishments, money, relationships, skill, accolades, and all the rest will not matter one bit. Not one of those things can make us right with God.
The question that will matter, and the only question that matters now, is this: Do you belong to Christ?
For Christians, we have a great hope that supersedes all that has transpired, good or bad. Our hope is not in athletic success, business success, relational happiness, economic prosperity, or anything else that will fade away.
Our hope is in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world and has, by pure grace, interceded for us and spared us of the wrath we deserve, while crowning us with righteousness before the Father.
I do not know if Tom Brady has found true satisfaction in Jesus Christ. I pray he does.
For us, the lesson is simple. Do not stake your identity on anything else. Cling to Christ, the author and finisher of your faith, and in Him you will find true satisfaction, true life, true joy, and true peace. And unlike skills, human relationships, and material things, which will someday pass away, satisfaction in Christ is an eternal guarantee.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39