March Madness started yesterday. Technically, I suppose it began Tuesday and Wednesday with the play-in games, but the traditionalist will tell you it really began yesterday. Many of us fill out brackets, some travel to far away places to watch their favorite teams, and many more watch the games on television...this year there are four television networks carrying the games at the same time. For the basketball enthusiast, that is heaven!
Some of us will have favorite teams that we root for. We will wear our school colors while we watch the game or maybe even be bold enough to wear them to work or display them on flags in our yards or on our cars. We take sides and display those loyalties in many ways. Some even bring the Divine into the discussion as if they believe that God somehow favors their team over another. This is taking team loyalties to the extreme...after all, everyone knows that God is a Big Blue fan and pulls for the Kentucky Wildcats! (Sorry, I couldn't resist that.)
No, God isn't a Big Blue fan...the writer of our text today tells us that God "...does not take sides, and he will not be talked into doing evil." God is not swayed by our petty allegiances, nor drawn in by our scheming plans. Everything is the Lords, the writer tells us here, reminding us that there is much more to life than the small things that so often consume us. "Respect the Lord your God and serve him," our text admonishes. That is good advice for Big Blue, Patriot, Buckeye, and even Volunteer fans.
The love of God is on display at the cross of Jesus Christ where everyone is welcome and all are viewed the same...through eyes of grace. "He is your God, who has done great and wonderful things for you, which you have seen with your own eyes." In the midst of March, June, or October Madness, that is the best news of all.
Jim Abernathy
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