There is a famous American tradition that we refer to simply as March Madness. This year 65 teams will go head to head in the fast-paced game that is college basketball. Even if you are not a fan of the sport, you cannot help but be drawn in by the packed field houses and the spectacle of things like seeing guys who still play defense.
Last year my team almost went all the way. The Fighting Illini finished as the runner-up to the National Champion Tarheels from North Carolina.
This year the pressure is off. They didn’t even win the Big Ten title. But they are playing strong and should at least string together some good performances. Could they be the second Illinois champion in the last 5 months?
But March has other special attractions for me. Two of my three favorite ladies on the planet claim March as their birth month… my bride of almost 13 years has a birthday tomorrow (and, no, I’m not saying how old she is – do you think I’ve learned nothing in our time together?) and our second daughter Erica turned 9 on the fourth day of this month.
Those events (in reverse order actually) are a huge part of what makes March special to me. But there’s one other reason I like March and it is for this reason that I chose to write about March from a theological perspective. March reminds me of God. Spring. The end of winter’s cold. The beginning of all things beautiful.
March reminds me that even in my coldest season when I feel far from God that re-birth, new life is only a seedling away. With the return of March comes a freshness that reminds me of how God views my sin when I confess it to Him and turn from it. Truly I am undeserving of such kindness… March madness indeed!
re:THINK 