March Madness
When I say the words “March Madness,” most of us immediately think of the wall-to-wall NCAA basketball games that commenced yesterday. I really do hope your bracket does well!
But, I’m not here to write about basketball today.
Fresh off completing the Alpha Marriage Course with my wife, Sarah, I’m thinking of a different kind of march and a different kind of madness – the kind of madness that depends on sticking with the same person and relationship for a “long march in the same direction.”* Basically, I want to champion long-term marriage as a more gracious form of March Madness.
While Sarah and I have only been married for 33 years, we are still learning about each other and the art of marriage after all these years. Several other attendees of the Alpha Marriage Course commented to me that they felt at ease seeing the pastors of the church attending the course as well – they felt as if showing up for Alpha could be some tacit admission that their marriage was falling apart. The truth is, we’re all in need of regular care and maintenance for the things that matter most: physical health, spiritual health, and relational health. Quite simply, we need to pay attention to what matters.
I once knew a mechanic who lamented the experience of servicing high-end automobiles that had never been maintained. A “new” BMW that made it only 30k miles before it expired because it had never had an oil change, a tire pressure check, or a new air filter. Even the best products, people, and relationships will burn out quickly if they are not properly cared for and maintained.
Because of the Alpha Marriage Course, I’m feeling more committed and confident about the various forms of care and maintenance that our marriage calls for: plenty of date nights, long walks and shared activity together, regular travel and new adventures, more spiritual conversations – just to name a few!
Thankfully, when it comes to our relationship with God, the Holy Spirit is the instigator of God’s program for keeping us in close relationship with himself. When you feel a regular prompting to pray, engage with Scripture, go to worship or a Bible Study, spend time enjoying God’s handiwork in the outside world… all of these are among the whispers that God provides as he seeks to maintain our spiritual connection and keep us close. While the Holy Spirit takes the lead, it gives God great joy when we respond and do our part.
There’s a powerful biblical word that speaks to God’s commitment to stick with his people for the long term: Covenant. A covenant is a promise to stick with somebody else no matter what: for better, for worse; richer, poorer; in sickness, and in health etc. It’s so good to know that God is practicing a March Madness of his own – promising to walk with the likes of us in this life and into eternity. Jesus’s final words in the Gospel of Matthew are these, “And surely I will be with you always, until the very end of the age.” It’s crazy, but true – God has promised to stick with us no matter what.
This Lenten season, as we continue to walk with Jesus toward the cross of Calvary, we have the opportunity to reciprocate. To set aside regular distractions and reaffirm our deep desire to walk - to march - along with Jesus all the way to Good Friday, and beyond. The best kind of March Madness there could ever be!
Blessings to you on the Way,
– Pastor Gregg
*I’m paraphrasing the words of theologian Eugene Petersen