Last year, I got the chance to play my first college basketball game in my home state. I was so excited to play in front of the 40-plus people who had come to watch. I wanted to play well and prayed that God would help me to do so.

Much to my disappointment, I played the worst game of my life. I made only one shot in my team’s humiliating 30-point loss. I was so embarrassed that I didn’t want to talk to any of my family or friends who had come to cheer me on. I was afraid of what they thought of me and my performance.

But God taught me something about His love and my worth that night. As I made my way out of the locker room after that game, I was welcomed by smiling faces and warm hugs. The people that had come to see me play didn’t care if I had scored three points or 30 points. They just wanted to see the one they loved.

God looks at us in the same way. First John 3:1 states, “Look at how great a love the Father has given us, that we should be called God’s children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him.” God loves us enough to call us His children. He sees our hearts and does not base His love on our actions or performance. We are loved unconditionally by our Maker. All God wants is for us to do the best we can with the gifts that He’s given us.

As athletes, we have a choice: to find our worth in our performance on the athletic field or to find our worth in something more lasting. Sports just happen to be the things that we do, but they do not define who we are or how much we’re worth. As a Christian, above anything else, you are a loved and valued child of God.