From The pastor's Desk...March, 2008
By Hal Polk, BraceBeagling 
March 03, 2008

It is a basketball tournament time and our team is in the finals! Amid great excitement the championship game begins, but to the horror of the crowd the star of our team, John, is not on the bench.

From the opening horn things go badly. our opponents seem invincible and by half time we trail by 15 points. The second half is a mirror image of the first and with three minutes to play we are 24 behind.

Then a murmur of anticipation runs through the crowd as they see John appear suddenly from the locker room. He is freshly suited and ready to paly. Wild applause greets his arrival on the court and at once our fortunes begin to turn. He seems to be everywhere...blocking shots, intercepting passes, shooting with unbelievable accuracy!

Almost single handedly he brings the deficit to 15 at the two minute mark, to 8 with one minute to play, and then to a single point with two seconds left on the clock.

It's our ball. The inbounds pass comes to John. Surrounded by the defenders he makes the final shot and sags to the floor with the effort. The entire arena is silent with every eye following the arching path of the ball. It hits the rim, bounces high into the air and then falls through he net!! We win by one point at the last second~

In the mayhem that followed not many noticed that the star of the game still lay motionless where he had fallen. He is rushed to a local hospital but it is too late.

Later we are told that John had a serious heart condition which was just discovered by the doctor who had warned him that any strenuous activity would certainly bring on his death. He entered the game knowing what the result would be! but his love for his teammates and school was stronger than his desire to protect himself.

This bit of fiction may seem a little melodramatic. But, perhaps it can illustrate the nature of the sacrifice Christ made on Calvary. Lost in our sins we were bound for eternal defeat and helpless to alter the course of judgement. Then Jesus entered the court of human life and singlehandedly won the victory for those who will receive Him!

The Sacrifice of the cross and the victory of His emptied tomb are for us and all who will call upon God in His Name!