Hello friends,

 

March Madness is HERE!  Conference tournaments ending, the Big Dance starting in FIVE days!  Spring is in the air (no, we are not acknowledging the snow coming next week)!!!  It’s one of my favorite times of the year.  The only time I plan my schedule around sports (not counting when my team plays their big rival in the regular season, which we don’t always since they are separate conferences).

 

March madness always comes with crazy endings and heartbreaking losses.  Last second wins, crying fans, and excitement from every section of the arena.  I think the one that gets  me in the feels the most are the crying college students.  I imagine them to be seniors, realizing they just played (or watched) their last game as a Bulldog, a Wildcat, a Tiger, or whatever mascot. I want to cry with them, knowing these supposed seniors are about to start a new life in the “real world” as the teachers always said. (“if you think this is hard just wait until you get to… (fill in the blank)

 

Is funny, the first 20-25 or so years of my life I’ve heard “just wait until…”

First in elementary school it was “middle school“.  In middle school it was “high school”.  In high school it was “college”.  In college, it was “until you get a real job”.   How come as adults they never say just wait until you retire? My guess is because that does not sound like a threat.

 

And while hopefully we will get to enjoy life after retirement, no one ever threatens with “just wait until you get to heaven“ I think that’s because that’s something we all look forward to:

 

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 

 

Life can feel like March madness at times.  Sometimes life can get busy, we are going from one side of the court to the other.  We may forget to pass the ball and we try to win the game ourselves (Spoiler alert: Jesus has already won the game).   Sometimes there is joy and excitement (like the crowd in the arena), other days are filled with sorrow (like the crying fans).  But don’t forget there is no last second win here. We already know the outcome Jesus wins He never misses a basket.  So share your burdens with Jesus.  Rejoice in the Lord with gladness for the joys in your life.

 

Jesus wins, He defeated death:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  ‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 

 

So we praise Him:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”  1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 

 

While the “real world” is not a basketball game, there are still teams, Jesus people vs the rest of the world.  We should stand in unity with fellow Christians (or at the very least our own churches).   The state of Kentucky has a motto: “United we stand, divided we fall”.  Something to remember as you gather in your local church and discuss how to shine the Light of Jesus to the neighborhood, city, or county.  Stand united as Christians so the light shines bright!

 

 

 

I hope my talk of basketball has encouraged someone to pick a team.  (Any team that does not include the word blue or devil in their mascot, never root for devils! 😉)

 

But in all seriousness, I hope some think about what is after this life. About what team that they are on.  And if they’re passing the ball to Jesus because he never misses.

 

 

 

I am a follower of Christ, I am not perfect, but I love Jesus.

 

Until Next Time,

 

Liz Allen