The miracle footballer

A little over a year ago British sports fans, and many others as well, were captivated by the story of the footballer who “died” and came back to life. Fabrice Muamba, a professional footballer with Premier League Bolton Wanderers, had a heart attack on the pitch. The match was abandoned, but the TV cameras stayed on as thousands watched medics try to restart Muamba’s heart. By the time they succeeded, he had been technically “dead” for 78 minutes.

In time, Muamba made a good recovery, though he had to retire from football. So how does he see those events of last year? A recent interview with The Times newspaper gives a fascinating insight. Here are a few quotes from the article (sadly not available online unless you have a Times subscription, in which case you can find it here).

Phil Mason [is] the Bolton chaplain and the man Muamba says helped to save his life. Chaplaincy is flourishing in football but Bolton are the only club in the UK who employ one full-time. Muamba, 24, did not join the club five years ago because of Mason but, he says, as a committed Christian it was a “bonus” to find out that his new club had a spiritual presence.

With Mason close by, Muamba was reminded daily of his faith and able to ignore the trappings of fame and fortune. Without the chaplain, he says, he might have let his prayers slip and if he had, he might not have survived.

Muamba has no doubt that God intervened to save him because he prayed and read the Bible regularly when it would have been all too easy to let his faith slip.

“Science did a part, God is the main part,” Muamba says. “Put God on one side. What would happen if somebody collapsed for ten minutes without oxygen? The outcome would be very bad. You should be brain-damaged. But 78 minutes? You think why. I tried to live my life as well as I can and when I was in trouble He rescued me.”

It’s hard to know how much of this comes from Muamba himself, and what may be an interpretation by the interviewer, Alyson Rudd. But there’s a clear message here, and it’s that Muamba survived the heart attack and is alive and well today because he prayed and read his Bible regularly. He was saved because of what he did. He deserved his recovery.

It’s great that Muamba’s faith is being discussed on the sports pages of national newspapers. His is an intriguing story that captured people at the time and still fascinates now. And if that leads some to find out more about what it means to be a “committed Christian”—as Muamba says declares himself to be, without embarrassment—that’s great too.

But it would be a pity if people came away with the message that salvation (from heart attacks and eventually for eternity) is a reward for being good. Christ Himself said the exact opposite: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2 v 17) It’s only if we recognise we’re sick with sin, that we will turn to Jesus.

This is a common misunderstanding. I lent something to one of my neighbours last week. “Oh Alison, you are good,” she said. “You’re so good you’ll certainly go to heaven.” She knows I’m a Christian, which is probably why she talked about heaven. My reply was: “You’re right that I’ll certainly go to heaven. But it’s not because I’m good.” She was dashing off, but it’s a conversation I hope to continue with her at the weekend. And I pray that she, and many of those who have followed Muamba’s story, will come to see the wonderful truth that a right relationship with God, and eternal life with Him, has nothing to do with what we do or how good we are. Instead it’s all about grace, and the amazing free gift offered lovingly to all who put their trust in Christ.