(In my new novel, Before the Trumpet Sounds: When Jesus Came to the Tennessee River Valley, Jesus returns in a manner nobody expects. During this visit, he is known by everyone as Jay.)
The president of a college invited the starting five on the men’s and women’s basketball teams to his house for a pick-up game. All five ladies accepted the invitation, but none of the males came. One said he was scheduled to work. Another needed to be at the hospital for his mother’s surgery. One had final exams and excused himself to study. A fourth was not feeling well, and the last had a sprained ankle and said he could not play.
The president of a college invited the starting five on the men’s and women’s basketball teams to his house for a pick-up game. All five ladies accepted the invitation, but none of the males came. One said he was scheduled to work. Another needed to be at the hospital for his mother’s surgery. One had final exams and excused himself to study. A fourth was not feeling well, and the last had a sprained ankle and said he could not play.
The president was angry. He told his secretary to go to the school and invite the worst male basketball players on campus. Soon the five alternates were at his house – one in a wheelchair, another short and obese, one legally blind, another mentally challenged, the last morally depraved. The game went on as planned.
That’s what the kingdom of God is like.
Corey didn’t understand the parable’s meaning. “The game was a rout, wasn’t it? Surely the women outscored their opponents by a wide margin.”
“No, the game was extremely competitive,” Jay replied.
“Then the women must have not given their best effort,” Corey surmised. “Doesn’t God expect us to give our best?”
“Everybody on both sides gave 100% effort,” Jay answered.
Hector offered an explanation. “Then they must have chosen sides to make the teams equal.”
“No,” Jay repeated. “It was women against men. But you are right on one point – the teams were equal.”
“I give up,” Corey said. “How could it happen?”
“Just before the game started, the president ordered one girl to sit in a wheelchair. He asked a second to play the game on her knees and put a blindfold on a third. Then he ordered the fourth woman not to go past half-court when her team was on offense. The fifth girl had to sit on the bench the whole game, as if she had committed too many fouls. That’s how the game was played, and that’s why the score was so close.”
“And how,” Michael asked, “is this like the kingdom of God?”
“God is like that president. He has invited you to enter His kingdom, and He expects you to accept his offer no matter what may stand in your way. In His eyes, everyone is on a level playing field. He measures two things – motive and effort. If you are a kingdom citizen, you are to play because He has invited you and are to give 100%, no matter your talent or disability.”
Hector asked him, “What about the men who didn’t come? What happened to them?”
“They played their next game before a packed house and won by thirty points. But the president was not happy. So it will be in the last judgment when men and women stand before God. He will be pleased with some and displeased with others.”
Corey imagined the scene. “It might not be what some people expect.”
Jay seemed pleased that he understood. “Yes, Corey, there will be many surprises."
Before the Trumpet Sounds:
When Jesus Came to the Tennessee River Valley (January, 2027)
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