Well folks, we are in the middle of March Madness! I hope your favorite college team is in the playoffs in the NCAA, NIT or CIT. My beloved Alma Mater had the best season ever this year. They won the season conference title with a 26-4 record. As of their last conference game they were rated 25th in the nation. Then came the conference tourney. Their conference is one of the nations smaller conferences, so they knew going into it that a loss meant there would be no chance for a NCAA bid. Bummer!
All was well until that final game........ The school? Murray State University. The opponent in that game? Belmont. With 4 seconds left in the game, Murray was up 87-85 and Belmont had the ball. Belmont called a time out and when play started up the ball was passed to a young man named Taylor Barnette. With only 3.2 seconds on the clock, Barnette sailed the ball from the top of the key into the basket to win by 1 point.
Just like that, a record season was over with one swish of the basket. No NCAA bid for Murray, but then came an invitation to the NIT. The first game was played at Murray against UTEP (University of Texas at El Paso.) Murray had no problem making this game count with an 81-66 victory. Next came a match up between Murray and Tulsa. Once again Murray (a 3 seed) proved themselves worthy with an 83-62 victory over Tulsa (2 seed).
Two days later they played Old Dominion (1 seed). Murray was down by a few points throughout the entire game until the very end. With 3.5 seconds left, Murray hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 69. Wow, we might be able to pull this one out in OT, but as soon as OD got the ball in their hands they called a time-out. As the ball came back into play it was passed to OD's Trey Freeman who immediately let it fly a fraction of a second before the buzzer to sink a 3-pointer and win the game. ARGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
I would like to say that just a few years ago Murray made it into the NCAA tournament by winning their conference tournament. They faced Vanderbilt in the first round and Murray won that game at the buzzer by making a shot much like the Belmont and OD shots. Those kind of things go both ways. Sometimes you are the victor and at other times you are the loser. It is just a matter of timing.
So, what does all this basketball hype have to do with God? EVERYTHING! This past year, MSU had a near perfect record. Fabulous, but the entire season and the 26-4 record (16-0 in their conference), meant ........... nothing. Well, not exactly, but all that work and in 3.2 seconds it is gone. MSU did everything right except for that one loss in the conference.......in the finals of the tournament. If only their loss to Belmont had been during the regular season and the win against them in the tournament.......well who knows!
This is probably going to be a weak attempt at making a point, but hang with me here for a minute. What if we are doing everything right, but it is at the wrong time? Belmont and Old Dominion obviously did the right thing at the right time and that one year in the NCAA Murray did the right thing at the right time. What if your team can hit 3-pointers and free throws 100% of the time during practice, but in the game they can't hit the broad side of a barn? Doing the right thing at the wrong time can have devastating effects. Equally as devastating is doing the wrong thing at the right time....
As I have studied the Bible from a 1st Century Jewish point of view for the last 4 years, I have come to see Genesis through Revelation with a different set of eyes. As my new eyes have looked at the Scriptures, I have also listened to the words of songs differently as well. This is not a post about contemporary or traditional worship, but I challenge you to try and find very many songs that are about God and God only without mentioning Jesus. Go ahead......try.
Well what is wrong with songs about Jesus? Nothing, but listen to the words. They are fabulous songs, but have we put the cart before the horse? Do we have the right things, but our timing is off? What about those buzzer beater shots? What if those young men had waited 3.6 seconds to let the ball leave their hands? Timing is everything. God is a god of order and he has an order to the entire world; even to the plans for the future of the world.
Are the songs we have placed in the forefront of today's church suppose to be sung in this day and age or should they be reserved for the time Jesus is crowned king?
I am just going to let you think on this one for a day or two. I will get back to this thought in a few days. Shalom!
