Fletcher Presbyterian Church
A Congregation in Mission
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By George!
The Game of Life
Fletcher Church
by George Gunn
March Madness, indeed. Sweet
Sixteen has come and gone and the
Final Four is at hand.
To quote Forest Gump: “Mama always
said. ‘Life is like a box of
chocolates - you never know what you’
re going to get!’ ” Life may be like a
box of
chocolates, but I want to also suggest
the possibility that life is like the
game of basketball. Let’s see how the
Fletcher Church
by George Gunn
March Madness, indeed. Sweet
Sixteen has come and gone and the
Final Four is at hand.
To quote Forest Gump: “Mama always
said. ‘Life is like a box of
chocolates - you never know what you’
re going to get!’ ” Life may be like a
box of
chocolates, but I want to also suggest
the possibility that life is like the
game of basketball. Let’s see how the
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ball bounces and develop a little mid-court theology.
Basketball is a game - so is life, but it is a game in which there are no
spectators, no sky boxes, no concessions, and few time outs. We are all here
to play the game! All on the team. All suited up.
It is a team sport. As in basketball, in life we have to depend on each
other. I’m glad that we have moved beyond just recording the points each
player scores and also record “assists,” recognizing the role of helping another
player score the points. No one ever scored on an “alley oop” play all by
himself! We are all team mates in the game of life.
Another reason life is like basketball is that each player must play
defense as well as offense. Starters as well as bench players have to go both
ways. Steals and blocked shots are as important to success as points and
assists. Tommy Burleson says too that no tall player in the paint scores until the
short guard brings the ball down the court.
Then in life, as in the game, there are rules and rewards. No player is
free to make his own rules. There are penalties for fouling, for walking, for
picking up the dribble, for arguing with the ref, for calling a time out when
you have used them all. In life too we are subject to certain laws. Our
actions have consequences.
But basketball, like life, is more than a matter of not breaking any of
the rules. Besides law there is grace. While our Coach helps us to learn and
to play the game, we often miss our shots, foul out, let the team down. So as
in the ball game, we depend on grace, the forgiveness of those we fail, the
power to forgive ourselves. We can’t ignore the rules, but grace abounds.
Whether the free throw is made or missed, team mates step up to encourage the man
at the line, to slap hands, to say both “good shot,” and “shake it off - go
on.”
So in life, we learn the importance of forgiveness, not wasting time
in recriminations or “trash talk.” We are all sinners, we all fall short,
but there is always another game, another season.
Do you realize that when the NCAA “Big Dance” started two weeks ago
there were 65 teams filled with optimism and confidence? Yet when it ends and a
Champion is crowned, 64 of the teams will have lost their last game of the
season. Hope points us into the future. In life we play the game, living by
grace and living as forgiven and forgiving people.
While I didn’t see it, Roger Wise tells a story about his nephew Ben,
when Ben was just a kid, playing soccer. The two teams practiced kicking goals
before the start of the game. When, early in the game, the ball was kicked to
Ben, he headed for the goal at which he had practiced, which happened to be
the opposing team’s goal. His dad, Jerry, went crazy on the sidelines, but yes,
Ben scored!
When something like that happened in a high school basketball game, one
confused guard dribbled toward the wrong goal while the crowd yelled, “Turn
around!” In this game an alert teammate caught up with him and blocked his shot.
In life, as in basketball, we sometimes get confused or mistaken about the
proper goals and we need help.
There are voices that shout “Turn around!” (the Biblical word is
“Repent!.”) If that voice is heard as from One with authority, it may suddenly dawn
on one that he is aiming at the wrong goal. He would say, ”I’ll be damned!”
- confess (I am a sinner) - turn around (repent) - and shoot at the proper
goal (i.e. “bear fruit that befits repentance.”)
Thank God for team mates who are able to block our miscues and to assist
us to keep our sights on true goals and to score for the home team. The clock
is running. It’s time to square up and let it fly!
Basketball is a game - so is life, but it is a game in which there are no
spectators, no sky boxes, no concessions, and few time outs. We are all here
to play the game! All on the team. All suited up.
It is a team sport. As in basketball, in life we have to depend on each
other. I’m glad that we have moved beyond just recording the points each
player scores and also record “assists,” recognizing the role of helping another
player score the points. No one ever scored on an “alley oop” play all by
himself! We are all team mates in the game of life.
Another reason life is like basketball is that each player must play
defense as well as offense. Starters as well as bench players have to go both
ways. Steals and blocked shots are as important to success as points and
assists. Tommy Burleson says too that no tall player in the paint scores until the
short guard brings the ball down the court.
Then in life, as in the game, there are rules and rewards. No player is
free to make his own rules. There are penalties for fouling, for walking, for
picking up the dribble, for arguing with the ref, for calling a time out when
you have used them all. In life too we are subject to certain laws. Our
actions have consequences.
But basketball, like life, is more than a matter of not breaking any of
the rules. Besides law there is grace. While our Coach helps us to learn and
to play the game, we often miss our shots, foul out, let the team down. So as
in the ball game, we depend on grace, the forgiveness of those we fail, the
power to forgive ourselves. We can’t ignore the rules, but grace abounds.
Whether the free throw is made or missed, team mates step up to encourage the man
at the line, to slap hands, to say both “good shot,” and “shake it off - go
on.”
So in life, we learn the importance of forgiveness, not wasting time
in recriminations or “trash talk.” We are all sinners, we all fall short,
but there is always another game, another season.
Do you realize that when the NCAA “Big Dance” started two weeks ago
there were 65 teams filled with optimism and confidence? Yet when it ends and a
Champion is crowned, 64 of the teams will have lost their last game of the
season. Hope points us into the future. In life we play the game, living by
grace and living as forgiven and forgiving people.
While I didn’t see it, Roger Wise tells a story about his nephew Ben,
when Ben was just a kid, playing soccer. The two teams practiced kicking goals
before the start of the game. When, early in the game, the ball was kicked to
Ben, he headed for the goal at which he had practiced, which happened to be
the opposing team’s goal. His dad, Jerry, went crazy on the sidelines, but yes,
Ben scored!
When something like that happened in a high school basketball game, one
confused guard dribbled toward the wrong goal while the crowd yelled, “Turn
around!” In this game an alert teammate caught up with him and blocked his shot.
In life, as in basketball, we sometimes get confused or mistaken about the
proper goals and we need help.
There are voices that shout “Turn around!” (the Biblical word is
“Repent!.”) If that voice is heard as from One with authority, it may suddenly dawn
on one that he is aiming at the wrong goal. He would say, ”I’ll be damned!”
- confess (I am a sinner) - turn around (repent) - and shoot at the proper
goal (i.e. “bear fruit that befits repentance.”)
Thank God for team mates who are able to block our miscues and to assist
us to keep our sights on true goals and to score for the home team. The clock
is running. It’s time to square up and let it fly!
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| More By George! |