Happy to be there

(the Apostle Paul said he was the "chief of sinners"

Happy to be there

It’s that crazy time of year again. The NCAA basketball tournament is in full swing and March Madness is rampant.  When the brackets came out there was a litany of grumbling and complaining from fans of the traditional powers about their seeding, their travel distance and the relative strength of the rest of the teams in their region.  They seem to feel that because of their tradition, conference affiliation or “quality wins” they are better than “those other” schools.  In contrast, when my alma mater, the University of Akron Zips, made the tournament for the third time in five years, we were all just thrilled to have a spot and to see our team on the big screen.  We are happy to be there…wherever “there” might be.

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.... But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner” Luke 18:10-13

Folks who have been living the Christian life for a long time can, unfortunately, drift into a kind of Pharisee-land like the fans above.  This false sense of superiority, holier than y’all, grumbling and complaining attitude serves no one well. The transformative work of Christ is diminished. Those who are yet to believe are turned away by the smugness. And our own defense against the sin in our life gets lowered.

Better to admit our sinfulness like the tax collector on a regular basis… and be happy that God is merciful!

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

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Volume 7, Number 3