Pastor's Blog
Lakers Win - Even the Second Time! Posted 7.15.2010It was the night after the amazing Los Angeles Lakers defeated that East Coast nemesis in the NBA finals. We were the champs. It had not been an easy fight. It had been rough. Brutal. Nerve-wracking. On the night of the championship it looked like all could be lost. Some doubted. Not many believed. But the purple and gold did reign supreme. Sweet!
The next day I was driving Danny somewhere. I assume it was home from Anaheim and a volleyball tournament. We were on our way to meet mom at our favorite hangout – Chipotle. I was still basking in the glory of triumph, when I flipped through the radio dial and found, who knew, another basketball game. It wasn’t just any game, it was a repeat of the great championship game of the night before.
Cool. I wondered how the local radio announcers would announce the last few minutes and the sweet sound of victory. I was thoroughly disgusted with the East Coast bias of the TV crew, so this would be interesting. So as Danny slept beside me, I listened to the game. Again.
It was actually enjoyable to listen to everything unfold. Last night I was a wreck. Tonight I drove through traffic calm as anything. Last night I was sweating. Tonight cool as a cucumber. Last night I was an emotional basket case, tonight the picture of maturity. The contrast between the two evenings was remarkable. On the night of the rerun, all was well in the world. That was hardly true of the night before.
What was the difference? Well, it’s pretty obvious. As I listened to the radio I already knew the outcome. I knew my Lakers would be kings of the basketball world. I knew that the other team would be buried in defeat. So I could just relax and listen to it all unfold. No tension. No fear. Just calm.
And as I sat in the parking lot at Torrance Crossroads waiting for the penultimate moment, it struck me. This is exactly why God wrote Revelation. And why Jesus spoke of the future on the Mt. of Olives. When you know how a story ends, it removes the tension and calms the fears of life. When we don’t understand why a trial is so strong, when we don’t understand what is happening around us, when things don’t go our way – how do we respond? It is possible to relax because we know the end. When life throws us a curveball – we can face it calmly, because we know that Jesus reigns in the end.
God has spelled it all out. Trouble comes before glory. So when I see the trouble, I keep my eyes on the glory. We know who wins. We know how it happens. Just because we don’t know when doesn’t mean it isn’t going to happen. So live life as a rerun. No tension. No fear. Just calm. Jesus wins. We believe it when we act like it.
Go Back
