by Justin Morton
Just a couple of weeks ago, coach Kevin Keatts was “on the hot seat”. His basketball team had struggled down the stretch to finish out the regular season and was on the verge of being sent home during the first round of the ACC basketball tournament. With his team trailing at halftime, the season seemed to be coming to a close. And then something happened, something that no one, and I mean no one, saw coming. Coach Keatts’s team came back to win not only that game but the next 4 games of the tournament, making them the ACC Tournament Champions. By winning the ACC tournament, his team automatically qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Keatts’s team, who was 20 minutes away from losing in the first round of the ACC Tournament, is now one of only four teams remaining. The North Carolina State Wolfpack have won 9 consecutive games and are only 2 wins away from being crowned college basketball national champions. Just a couple of weeks ago, it looked like NC State was going home in mid-March and Keatts might be looking for a new job. But not anymore. Their actions have led to a contract extension and raise for their coach. Within just a couple of weeks, his status has completely changed because of what his players accomplished on the court.
For those of us who are Christians, we can relate. You see, because of our sins we were separated from God and on the verge of being eliminated. But then something happened, something no one saw coming. Jesus shed His blood and died on a cross so that you and I could be saved (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:6-8). And all we have to do to access that spilled blood is to be buried with Him in baptism (Rom. 6:3-4). Once we are buried with Him and come up out of the water, our status is changed (Eph. 2:1-10). We are no longer on the hot seat, we are forgiven. We’ve been given a fresh start to live our lives after the pattern of His Son. And it’s all because of Jesus.
When I read about how Kevin Keatts’s status changed so quickly all because of someone else’s actions, I couldn’t help but think about Jesus and our status before God. Thanks to what Jesus did on the cross, all those who are covered by His blood through the watery grave of baptism have been given a new life with God. Praise be to the Lord that you and I are no longer on the hot seat!