THE REV. IKE

I'm going to miss Isaac Bruce. Oh, he's still around. At age 35, he signed a free agent contract with the 49-ers. The problem--he's a Ram. The original St. Louis Ram. And he's going to play for the much disliked 49-ers.

A religious man, Isaac earned the nickname The Rev Ike because of his Christian beliefs. As a leader of chapel services and various Christian outreaches in the St. Louis area, Mr. Bruce is held in high esteem. The vehicle was pro football. His purpose: to advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

I recall an opening Monday night football game against the Broncos when he ran in stride with Torry Holt as one of them caught a Kurt Warner touchdown pass. They ran side by side untouched into the end zone. Of course, my favorite catch was the one against the Titans that secured a Super Bowl win for the Rams.

Yet another amazing story and remembrance for me about Number 80 was when he wrecked his car. Going too fast on a St. Louis interstate, Bruce lost control of his sports car. As he was about to crash, he let go of the wheel and simply said with awesome respect, "Jesus".

He had no more time than to utter the name of His Savior. No time to complete even a one sentence breath prayer. His car flipped over as it skidded off the interstate pavement. Bruce walked away, unhurt.

He could have been killed or badly injured. He wasn't. The power of the Word of God is still great today. Even if uttered in the haste of the moment. As long as it's done with the respect due the King of Kings. After all, who else knows our hearts and protects us if we truly are His?

I won't be able to stand to see Isaac in the uniform of the 49-ers. But I'll never root against him. For you see, we share a friend: His name is Jesus.