| Few players have enjoyed the type of on-field success that Irving Fryar experienced during his National Football League career. Before retiring in 2000—after 17 years in the league—Fryar left his mark as the fifth-leading receiver in NFL history.
On the field, there was not an opponent that the speedy, sure-handed receiver could not beat. But away from the limelight of the NFL, Fryar was fighting a losing battle where the stakes were life and death.
“I was at the end of my rope,” said the five-time All-Pro, who reflected on that day in 1989 when he cried out to God from a jail cell. “I had been in jail a few times; drugs, alcohol, marriage not right, family and personal life not right. I really believe, sincerely, that if I did not make the choice to allow Christ to come into my life in that jail cell that I probably would not be here right now. I would probably be dead.”
Fryar not only lived—but also decided to live his life for Jesus Christ from that day on. Since then, the former NFL standout has become an ordained minister and now spends his time sharing the gospel that saved him from total destruction.
“I don’t tell people right and wrong just because it’s right and wrong. I tell them because I know what different things and different ways of life will do to you,” said Fryar, who played for New England, Miami, Washington and Philadelphia during his career.
“People have a tendency to listen to me because I’ve lived a lot of negative situations. I can tell them that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6) and there’s no other way to get eternal life except through Jesus Christ.”
While the experience of that day in the jail cell more than a decade ago was quite painful, Fryar can now look back on it with great thankfulness. Sometimes, he admits, you have to hit rock bottom before you see the way back to the top. “There’s no better way of living than to have Christ in your life,” Fryar added. “I’ve lived it all and, believe me, there’s no better way to live than a saved life; a life with Jesus Christ at the forefront, leading the way.”
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