AMAZING STORY
Safety in a Strong Foundation
By Shawn Brown
The 700 Club
CBN.com - Buffalo Bills Safety Jairus Byrd is on a mission - to be better than his father- former San Diego Chargers DB Gil Byrd. Both are two-time pro bowlers. Twice Jairus has been one of the league leaders in interceptions. Gil on the other hand is the San Diego Chargers’ all-time leader in interceptions. So the race is pretty close.
“Growing up, you want to be like your father. I’m competitive, so I always wanted to be better than my father, and just compete with him and things like that. So it really wasn’t—I took it like as a challenge, everyone saying, ‘Oh, you know, that’s Gill’s son,’ or whatever. I just wanted to compete and be better than he was.”
But to Jairus being like dad goes well beyond football…especially when it comes to his faith in Christ.
“I went to a Christian school growing up, so I’d say at about 9 (years old) I accepted Christ in my life.”
Jairus played football at the University of Oregon. After 3 seasons was selected by the Bills in the 2009 NFL draft. With all of his success thus far, there’s a lot of pressure and unknowns in the NFL. In fact, Jairus faced the possibility of being traded during offseason. He says it’s times like that where his relationship with the Lord helps him through life in the NFL.
“The biggest thing in the world that comes to mind is peace. When you’re in this profession and you get to this level, it’s your job and there’s a lot of pressure from outside people and just things that come with it. And that relationship just gives you peace. Peace that comes with being in a relationship with Jesus is mind blowing. The things that people think that matter… Money and the fame, whatever you have that comes with this, is short lived. This is not for long, you know, the NFL, people say, stands for ‘Not For Long.’ This game could be over in a minute. So what do you have as your foundation? If you build this as your foundation, it could be gone just like that. You know what I’m saying? So, you got to make sure your foundation is built on something that’s going to last. And that’s something that will last forever.”
Jairus admits he has a lot of work to do to catch his father’s legacy. But every time he takes the field he wants fans to see more than just interceptions, tackles, and big hits. “I just want them to see a passion, first and foremost. When they see me on the field, I want them to see someone in worship to God; just whatever I have, whatever you see me doing, an act of worship. With the talents that I’ve been given, if I’m, just whatever I’m doing, if I’m running, jumping, could be sitting on the sidelines, ‘Man, he’s worshiping.’ You know what I’m saying? ‘He’s doing everything he can. He’s worshiping God with what God’s given him.’”
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