As we continue our
conversation this week on what it means to be Easter people, I wanted to share
with you a touching story that has come out on the heels of the NCAA
tournament. Scott Nagy is head coach for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
The Jackrabbits turned some heads this year qualifying for the NCAA tournament
for the 2nd straight year with another Summit league championship and an
undefeated season at home.
The really interesting thing about the Jackrabbits is their unique team motto. Unlike other teams with mottos such as “Play Angry,” “Louisville First,” or “We On,” Coach Nagy’s motto for the Jackrabbits is “Play like you’re loved.” When asked what the motto means, Nagy said, "what I want our guys to know is that family, teammates, and coaches love them and that you don't have to perform in order to know that you are loved."
Maybe we should take a cue from Coach Nagy. His team speech just prior to the conference championship game that sent them the NCAA tournament ended with this: "I want you to play like you're loved. Play freely. Love isn't dependent on your performance. No matter how you play, you are loved. Play with that in mind."
Isn’t that what it means to be an Easter people? Isn’t the beauty of the tomb being empty that the death, darkness, and junk we hold onto in our lives was conquered so that we could live in God’s love for us? Isn’t that what Paul meant in his letter to the church at Ephesus writing, “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
As you go through this next week know that you aren't charged with earning God's love. Your challenge is to believe it, accept it, and revel in it…to live in the knowledge of acceptance and forgiveness, of being made new in Christ, and to pass it along to others you encounter. Discover and embrace the freedom and joy that is found when you start to “play like you’re loved.”
The really interesting thing about the Jackrabbits is their unique team motto. Unlike other teams with mottos such as “Play Angry,” “Louisville First,” or “We On,” Coach Nagy’s motto for the Jackrabbits is “Play like you’re loved.” When asked what the motto means, Nagy said, "what I want our guys to know is that family, teammates, and coaches love them and that you don't have to perform in order to know that you are loved."
Maybe we should take a cue from Coach Nagy. His team speech just prior to the conference championship game that sent them the NCAA tournament ended with this: "I want you to play like you're loved. Play freely. Love isn't dependent on your performance. No matter how you play, you are loved. Play with that in mind."
Isn’t that what it means to be an Easter people? Isn’t the beauty of the tomb being empty that the death, darkness, and junk we hold onto in our lives was conquered so that we could live in God’s love for us? Isn’t that what Paul meant in his letter to the church at Ephesus writing, “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
As you go through this next week know that you aren't charged with earning God's love. Your challenge is to believe it, accept it, and revel in it…to live in the knowledge of acceptance and forgiveness, of being made new in Christ, and to pass it along to others you encounter. Discover and embrace the freedom and joy that is found when you start to “play like you’re loved.”
-Darren
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