Last night i watched Game 5 of the NBA Finals. If you've been detached from the media over the last 24 hours, the Miami Heat won the game handily, clinched the series and was crowned Champion of the NBA. So that's where i begin.
I like watching celebrations. Don't get me wrong, i like being a part of celebrations, too. Some call me a social butterfly...some just call me awesome, but there's a certain and particular joy i find in watching an individual or a team accomplish a goal. And so i watched as the Heat celebrated. And then Jeff Van Gundy said (something to the tune of), "These players get all this money, sign all these big deals but right now none of that matters! This moment is pure, unabashed joy!" And you know, i don't normally care for his commentary...but he had a good point right there.
Confetti shot out from cannons. Ticker tape fell from on high. Streamers and ribbons fluttered, fell and draped the champions as a robe covers a king. A chorus of 19,600 fans rejoiced as they lifted their voices to congratulate their boys, saying "you did it! well done!"
...then repeated in my head one of my favorite bible verses: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - 2 Timothy 4:7
no, it's not a perfect analogy. and yes, it's just an analogy. it's basketball. it's not everything...but from the moment, this scene took on a new significance. This is how i imagine getting into heaven. We fight. We sacrifice. We trial. We trip. We rise. We persevere. And all along the way those saints, those holy men and women, wait on baited breath to see how we finish the race...if we keep the faith. They wait ever so patiently and they pray. They bring us up when we we need them. They are waiting, waiting to rejoice. And when it finally happens...it's a party.
the pinnacle of this life isn't accomplished until the next.
Peace,
Daytona
