March Madness

David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword. 

1 Samuel 17:50

If you are a sports fan, this is a wonderful time of the year! The NCAA College Basketball tournament began this week. Over the next few weeks, Sixty-Eight teams will compete for the National Championship. The tournament is also called "March Madness" because there are always a few upsets during the tournament. (Already today #15 Princeton defeated #2 Arizona and #13 Furman upset #4 Virginia!) Upsets are generally exciting games as the underdog rises up to defeat the favored team. 

I love a good underdog story, like David and Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17). Goliath is described as a 9-foot Philistine giant, who had been a warrior from his youth up. He had training, experience, weaponery and a lot of confidence. David was a young teenager, sent to the front lines to check on his brothers who were serving in the Israeli army. He had never been in battle before - the closest thing to a fight for David had been run-ins with wild animals protecting his father's flocks. 

David arrived as Goliath challenged the Israelites to a battle of "Representative Warfare" - he wanted them to send their best warrior to fight him, and whoever won would win not only for himself, but his army and nation also. David was shocked as he watched the Israeli army run and hide when Goliath came out. Not one of the soldiers was willing to go to battle the giant. David got mad, and then he volunteered to go fight Goliath. 

David was the complete opposite of Goliath. He was young, inexperienced and ill-equipped. His only weapons were his shepherd's staff, a sling and five smooth stones... but you know how the story goes - David knocks Goliath down with a well-placed rock and then cuts off his head with Goliath's own sword. The Israeli army rushed the valley and defeated the favored Philistines. March Madness at it's best!

March Madness is also a great lead up to the ultimate David and Goliath story - Easter. Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus took on the greatest enemy of human beings, death... and He won! On Easter, we celebrate the defeat of death. And when Jesus defeated death, He also won the victory for all who would believe in Him. Paul wrote to Timothy: "For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. 10 And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News." (1 Timothy 1:9-10)

As you're enjoying March Madness, take some time to prepare your heart to celebrate the greatest upset in the history of the world - victory over death. Praise the Lord!