I recently got to watch a great college basketball game
between Duke and Gonzaga… the number 1 team in the country vs the number 3
team. (And this week those rankings are still true… just reversed on which team
they go with.)
Entering the game Duke was considered the team to beat,
not only that night but for the year… with many already thinking they are a
shoe in for the national championship next spring. I am not a Duke fan per say,
but I must admit I too expect them to be there in the championship at the end of
the year… in spite of the fact that in the game I watched they lost to Gonzaga…
and honestly for most the game Gonzaga was fully in control.
Duke ended up losing by just two points as they climbed
back into the game late as a result of their incredible athleticism and skills.
They were able to spread the floor and get some separation, allowing them to find
lanes to drive to the basket (using their speed and jumping ability), without
Gonzaga putting a body on them. Quick players love to play when the defenders
give them space to move. (And coaches hate to see their defense allowing unimpeded
lanes to the hole!)
I watched the game due to my intrigue in watching Zion
Williamson. This kid is a “monster”, weighing over 280lbs, yet fast… nimble…
and can jump out of the gym. He is explosive and is fun to watch. But in spite
of the size and strength, I noticed that young Zion is still in need of unobstructed
lanes to use his speed, as he has not learned yet to create space in the low
post; (nor has he learned to defend the post…)
My favorite player in that particular game was a young
man named Rui Hachimura. He is a player for Gonzaga that is greatly skilled and
athletic, but more impressively knows how to use his body. Weighing in at
around 50lbs less than Williamson, I watched Hachimura run a clinic on how to get
low in the post and create offense. Williamson is used to using his incredible
jumping ability and quickness to block shots, make steals, etc. and thus plays
defense straight up and down and not seeming interested in putting his body on
the opponent. Rui would run to the low post spots he wanted with no resistance…
so even though he may not have always had an initial lane to the goal, he did
have lanes to his spot and once there, he would drop step and “sit down” on his
defender. That simply means he would get his behind low and into the defender
so the defender couldn’t use jumping ability or quickness to stop him. It was a
beautiful display of sealing off the defender and creating space.
Well I am starting to write as a basketball junkie, and
would love to talk hoops, but there is a spiritual point to my observations. In
our game plan called the Great Commission, we will find that we do not always
have a “clear lane” in sharing the Gospel. There are typically obstacles, or
hindrances to getting others to listen… as well as an enemy that wants to block
our lanes…
So, if we want to be successful at getting to the goal of
evangelism and discipleship (the Great Commission) we have to get to our spots
and “sit down” making contact… how do we do that? The Great Commandment tells
us to not only love God but to love others… In Jesus’ great sermon on the
mount, He told us how to make contact with the opponent…
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless
those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who
spitefully use you…
As a coach, I often was heard yelling at players to put a
body on others… to make contact… I AM SCREAMING TO US AS THE CHURCH TO MAKE
CONTACT THROUGH LOVING… EVEN OUR ENEMIES! Can you imagine FaceBook filled with
blessings toward our opponents? Or the workplace or schools with doing good to
our opponents? Or what if we actually prayed for, instead of ranted against,
our opponents? That happens to be how Jesus said we should make contact...
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