We are now in the season of "March Madness." People are watching the NCAA tournament or the NIT on television. I have been thinking about the hype and all the attention paid to the tournament and discovered that our faith journey is like playing basketball. The following I call "A Basketball Guide to Faith:"A Basketball Guide to Faith
1. FREE THROWS represent our opportunity to do good. Basketball even refers to the “charity line” where those shots are taken. Missed free throws are missed opportunities we all have to do good deeds.
2. TURNOVERS are those times when we try to do something good and faithful, but we fail. This usually happens when we do not rely upon others on our faith journey. Most us will have turnovers in our faith journeys…times when we are unable to accomplish even the basic aspects of discipleship.
3. REBOUNDS are second chances to score and achieve a faithful life. God continues to allow us to “rebound” when we fall short of following Him.
4. FOULS are those mistakes, errors, and sins that we commit when we break the rules. It reminds us that there is a cost when we break the rules of the game.
5. THREE-POINT SHOTS are those dramatic times when our best and most faithful efforts being results, even more results then normal.
6. THE SHOT CLOCK and the game clock reminds players that a basketball game has limits. In our faith journey we are reminded that our time is limited. If we want to be faithful we must live our lives with a sense of urgency because our time is limited. That is probably the reason John Wesley urged his followers “Do not trifle your time away.”
7. CHEERING SECTION is a group of fans who are clapping, shouting and cheering urging the team on to success. As it states in Hebrews we are surrounded by a “cloud of witnesses” of those Christians who have passed on from life to death to life. As Christians we will always have the “home court advantage” when we hear and feel the support in the grandstands (the church) of those who are praying for us and cheering for us to finish faithfully.
8. FINAL SCORE in a basketball game decides which team has won the game. Fortunately for us as Christians we already know the final score…it is assured victory in Jesus Christ.
9. THE COACH on a basketball team is the one who guides, directs, disciplines, encourages, plans, recruits, and teaches the team how to play well. For our faith journey we have the Spirit of Jesus Christ as our “coach” and advocate.
10. A GOOD DEFENSE..in all sports a good defense helps to win games. We have Satan who is always trying to “block our shot” to Christ. He can be as deceptive as a 2-3 collapsing zone and sometimes as bold as a man to man defense. What we have to remember is the Christ will always help us win the game of life!
