Riley Patterson Desires to Deny Self and Follow Christ
His attitude is less of him and more of Jesus.
By Faith on the Field Staff, February 6, 2023
Kicker Riley Patterson of the Jacksonville Jaguars has had some pretty amazing football moments in his young career. In Week 16 of the 2022-23 season, Patterson scored 13 points on four field goals and one extra point in a 19-3 win over the Jets, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. On January 14, Patterson kicked the game-winning field goal to advance the Jaguars through the Wild Card Weekend. The Jacksonville Jaguars finished the game 30–31 against the Los Angeles Chargers, completing the third-biggest comeback in playoff history.
Recently, Rob Maaddi asked Riley about the Bible reference of Luke 9:23, where Jesus is saying, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Rob asked Riley what that verse meant to him.
“Exactly what it says; to deny myself, my thoughts, my ambitions, the way I feel about myself and others. Just completely get rid of that. I want to be renewed to God's heart, to his mind, to his thoughts, to his knowledge. You know, my book is the Bible, my thoughts are the Bible, my heart is the Bible and Scripture and I want to get rid of myself as much as possible.”
Listen to the episode here:
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As a born-again Christian, Riley knows that everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s standards of holiness. This is how it has been since the first humans lived in the Garden of Eden.
“We know what happened (in) Genesis. We have sinful natures and just because I have feelings and thoughts doesn't mean that they're right. Everything that I want to do, I want to align with Scripture and Christ.”
Riley recognizes that being a believer in Jesus is about more than just attending church a few times a year. A genuine relationship with Jesus is a day-by-day venture.
“It's something that you have to do every day. It's not once a week when you go to church. It's not once a couple of months if you just go during a holiday. It really is every single day and over time it will affect you more than you could ever know. Because this Christian life, it's amazing, it's purposeful and I wouldn't have it any other way.”
