A new football season has begun. Some top footballers are Christians and try to show their faith by the way they live. Heurelho da Silva Gomes comes from Brazil. He has played as goalkeeper for his national team as well as for Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and Watford. His early life wasn’t easy. He came from a poor family and grew up on a farm. He says, “Everything that happened in Brazil makes me stronger and a better person today.”
He came to faith in Jesus Christ when he realised we can never take anything from this earth. He says, “I was missing something in my life before I was a Christian, so I started going to church and began to follow God. Even as a footballer you need something. Before I met God, I was starting to go a little crazy because when you are a footballer everything is there for you. You must have something different to take you away from these things, and that’s what God did. He took me away from them. I do not need to go out and go to a nightclub now. I have a family and I’m able to do things better. That’s why I changed my life forever. Before I came to know Jesus, the things in this world were the best for me, but now my main target is to do things right for God. Thanks to God, my life is so different now and I am far happier.”
Heurelho knows the importance of keeping close to Jesus in his busy life. Every Saturday he tries to go to church. He says, “After a game some of the lads say there is a party going on. I tell them OK, enjoy your party, but I’m off to church. I think we must do things like this. God gave me everything and I know that if I put God in first place, he is faithful. He will never let me down and everything I do is not for me, it is for him.”
Heurelho tries to show fans what it’s like to be a Christian and a footballer. He says, “I try to be an example and show people that there is something different in my life. When you follow Jesus, people can see there’s something different about you. You must try to do your best to show people they can have it too. I need to show what I believe and what is the right thing to do. As footballers we have a great opportunity to show who Jesus is and to help people to change. All the glory belongs to God. I’m just here to help them find the way.”