Madness.
It happens every March. Sixty-eight NCAA men’s basketball teams compete to be a champion. However, it is not simply the number of games played in March that leads to insanity. The madness comes from the possibility of some obscure, unknown team to upset a champ that no one is betting on. The world waits with anticipation for the underdog to emerge and take the spotlight.
Loyola Chicago hadn’t been to the “Big Dance” since 1985 when it qualified for the first time. Then in 2018, it became only the fifth team in tournament history to make it to the Final Four from a second-to-last-seed position. They did it by sinking three last-second game-winning shots. Even their head coach counted them out and repeatedly yelled, “Are you kidding me?” in their win to send them to the Final Four.
Deep down, we all want the underdog to win. It could be because we long to see someone ordinary like us achieve greatness. Sometimes we are tired of seeing those who know they are great win all the time. Or maybe we just long to see a miracle.
God has a track record of using the underdog to accomplish great things. Moses was a shepherd with a shady past. David was the aggravating little brother who didn’t know how to fight. Rahab was the prostitute who didn’t always tell the truth. Zaccheus was a short sellout, and Peter was a fisherman with a temper.
Then there was a group of college students this year at a little school called Asbury University who stuck around when the worship service was supposed to be over and kept singing, confessing, and praying. Twenty-four hours a day for weeks. They didn’t skip class. They left the service, went to class, and returned. Sparks of revival began to occur in other universities around the country. The church wasn’t ready for ordinary college students to do extraordinary things during the Jesus movement of the ’70s. Will we be ready now?
“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13, NIV)
Unschooled … ordinary.
Great men don’t know they’re great. And, truth be told, they aren’t. Their greatness comes from spending time with Jesus. It is evidenced by a humility to repent, courage to stand, and a heart to listen. When God shows up, He gets the credit. The world watches in astonishment and takes note that Jesus is to blame.
You may know one of those ordinary, unschooled people. They may look surprisingly familiar in the mirror. Are you ready to take the shot?