Basketball With Jesus

I didn't get to go play basketball yesterday. The other guys at church forgot about me and scheduled it when I was busy. Actually, I think it was intentional. They are all afraid of me. But in reality, I'm glad I didn't go. I haven't played in a long time and if I'd played I would have been that guy. You know the guy I'm talking about. The guy who shakes his head every time he misses a shot. The guy who wants everyone to believe that he's better than the way he's playing. "It's been a while." "Boy am I rusty." "My allergies are kicking in." "Is that rim regulation?" You know the excuses. But I think it's a microcosm of what we are all trying to do in life. We are all trying to show everybody that we are better than what it looks like. Isn't that what self pity is? When we walk around moping about how bad we are, aren't we really just trying to convince everyone (including ourselves) that we are better than we really are? That's why I'm thankful that Jesus calls me out on this every time I read the Bible. It's frustrating. Reading the Bible is a little like if your friend turned to you in the middle of the game and said, "why are you shaking your head? You've never been able to make that shot." I think that's why we shy away from Jesus, he calls us out. But then he says the most amazing thing. "It's ok. Really, it's ok. It's ok that you can't make a layup to save your soul (everything's always so spiritual with Jesus). Come follow me and I'll show you how. But it's going to start with you realizing how bad you really are."