NFL Player Andre Fluellen Talks Struggles of Becoming Born Again Christian
Andre Fluellen may not be playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday, but the Detroit Lions' defensive tackle is celebrating his victory in Jesus Christ by letting people know that they can be born again.
Fluellen, 29, often takes to Twitter to share Scripture and speak about his Christian faith. Most recently, he decided to share his own personal struggles with sin while encouraging others to become born again.
"I believe someone needs to hear that being born again is real. It's a real thing that really happens," Fluellen tweeted. B4 I was reborn I thought it was about doing good deeds and acting right. But for me, it was just that... An act. (SIC)"
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While the defensive tackle insisted he did not intend to condemn or judge anyone with his message, he spoke about the importance of people having eternal life without having to wait for death to receive it.
"Anyone who is born again possesses eternal life right now...again, how do we know we are born again? #rebirth," Fluellen tweeted.
He went on to share Scriptures such as 1 John 3:9-10 before speaking in more detail about his personal struggles with sin. The football player spoke about his amazement with the way God brought him out of his mess.
"What was I practicing? Definitely not the things of God," Fluellen wrote. "That word practice is soooo crucial. I would go to [church] but I wasn't [churched]....I would read the Word but I wasn't living the Word."
The NFL player said he used to think that if he did some good, he would be in good standing with God. Yet, he practiced the works of the flesh.
"I had no identity...I tried to be what my peers & media said I was supposed to be, and could never continually live up to it…...then the sleepless nights," Fluellen tweeted. "Hating myself for not being who and where I'm supposed to be... worrying what ppl r saying about me…"
Fluellen once felt he loved God, which made him believe he was born again. However, he realized that love is not a feeling.
The football player admitted he was addicted to sin until he decided to throw in the towel and let God take over.
"I said God, I can't beat this.,, You have to save me from me, 'cause I don't like where I'm getting me," Fluellen recalled. "Realest prayer of my life."
Fluellen said he experienced Psalms 34:18, which states, "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." For the Detroit Lions player, it was important to share his story to let people know that he did not believe people had to change in order to get "right with God."
"2 all struggling with sin. Quit trying! Give up," Fluellen wrote. "Its ok to be weak...it sounds so opposite but remember Jesus said "MY power is made perfect in weakness.'"
Last Christmas, Fluellen was a part of an initiative that helped the Athletes for Charity organization gift people with premium New International Version study Bibles. He told The Christian Post why he believed athletes should not shy away from mixing sports with faith.
"To people who say sports and spirituality should be separate; was it not God who created man who created sports? Was football not part of God's plan to reach the lost?" Fluellen questioned CP. "Nothing in all creation is separate from God. It is because of Jesus, who sustains the entire universe, that we are able to take our next breath. Sports fits somewhere inside this universe!!"
