Faith at FIFA - the Christian witness of Tobin Heath - #FIFA to SHARE

Tobin Powell Heath (born May 29, 1988) is an American soccer player.Heath, a player at FIFA, won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was a player in the team’s repeat gold medal performance at the 2012 London Olympics. Regarding her faith Tobin says: "I was fortunate enough to grow up in a Christian home and an awesome family. Our family was just really passionate about Jesus. I had a great experience growing up. Like many kids, I wanted to do my own thing so it wasn’t until around the end of high school and start of college that I started to develop my own faith. I stopped piggy backing off of my family’s (faith) and wanted to figure out what it was all about. I got super interested in things and obviously from there it’s just grown. Like anyone who has a relationship (with Jesus) knows, the coolest thing about it is that it’s infinite how much you can learn and begin to understand. It’s something that grabbed me." Her faith also is shared with her teammates: "You spend so much time with your teammates in environments where they see how you live. It’s one of the coolest ways to just love people." "Your teammates see you through the good and the bad. They see where your foundation lies in those moments. You can also be there for them to share the love of Christ to them through those times when they’re in need and desperate for some truth in their lives." Her relationship with Jesus is important: "I can’t even imagine going through life without my relationship with Jesus. So much of it is me relying on Him and me needing Him, not just in those crazy circumstances but in the day-to-day activities. During that time at the World Cup, it was a rollercoaster ride, but it was neat to just see His hand on that. It’s more than just winning or losing. There are so many relationships that go deeper than that. He has a plan in it all. You have to trust that. Even though it’s not the ideal outcome—I mean, everybody wants to be winners—you have to trust that God has a greater plan for this even when you can’t see it." Heath went on to explain "Know your place. I know it kind of sounds a little backwards, but I just really think of God as being so incredible. The depth of who He is and His character is unfathomable and the fact that we can know Him just a little bit is so cool. He knows us inside and out. It’s remarkable in many ways. When I try to think about Him, I’m just in awe. That humbles me in any situation. When I need strength in hard times, I know I have a God that can move mountains. Or if I’m going through a time of success, I can just rejoice in the Lord and give glory to Him knowing that He’s given me the gifts to be able to accomplish what I have. Everything comes back to Him." When it comes to non-believers Tobin relates: "But even with my non-believing teammates, there is a great amount of unity and I truly believe that’s God working. It’s really cool in team sports when you’re united around a belief or something you want to accomplish. Whenever you’re working towards something greater than yourself, it’s almost a selflessness that the Lord delights in when you’re serving your teammate or your friend or your sister in Christ. That’s just why I love team sports. It’s a great example of that selflessness that I think is really pleasing to God." About being a role model Tobin says, "It’s really neat when you become a role model. It’s also a lot of responsibility. But if you see it as a platform where you can pour into others for Jesus with love, that’s where I want to be. Becoming known or noticed in my sport isn’t what drives me to work hard and want to be the best I can be. It’s Jesus. That’s why I play. I play to glorify Him. I worship Him with the gifts I’ve been given. Through that, I just hope He can be glorified. I try to keep that as my motivation when I step out on the field every day whether it’s practice or a game. It’s to work as hard as I can in thankfulness for what He’s given me and hopefully some of that can come back to Him." She shows where her priorities lie "It’s not about that worldly outcome in terms of winning or losing. It’s about Him being known and not in a way that forces it upon other people but in a way that lets people know how He’s transformed my life and how He’s given me purpose and meaning and love and satisfaction. That’s the message of Jesus. It’s not a platform to impose on people. It’s a platform to love people. Our God’s going to be victorious. He’s the Creator of the universe. I’m just a vessel trying to do my part with what I’ve been given." Edited from Interview with Belief.net

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