Chan Willis – C.P.C.

                                                                                                                                                                February 7, 2010

“Coin Toss”

Genesis 45:4-7; Luke 15:1-3, 8-10

As we are all aware… in some cases, painfully so… the Saints are playing today in the Super Bowl.  To get there they won a thrilling, heart-pounding game over the old master Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.  For those of you what watched that game weeks ago, what would you say was the most pivotal point in that game?  Boy Wonder Garret Hartley’s GW 40-yd FG?  The shocking interception thrown by that cagey veteran Favre?  A risky 4^th down running play that allowed the Saints to maintain possession in that OT period?  I would suggest to you that the most critical juncture in the ball game may have actually been the coin toss.  Why?  Well, if the Saints lose that flip of a coin, you give the ball to an offense that has moved the ball effectively all night long.  In all likelihood, Drew ‘Cool’ Brees and his offensive teammates never get to touch the ball.  In winning the right to choose getting the ball, the Saints do to the Vikes what could have happened to them.  They move the ball into position to garner the winning points and, for the first time in their checkered history, the Saints are in the Super Bowl.

      So, all of these two valiant teams’ efforts come down to being decided by a mere ‘flip of a coin?’  All of the preparation, strategy, execution, and plain hard work hinges on being determined by mere luck?!  Well, there would be those that say that all of the Saints faithful who have gone on to their eternal reward have had some palatable impact on games played this year:  a last second, chip shot FG that strangely drifts off target.  … [another example]That maybe… just maybe… this team is one of “Destiny”… one that is experiencing a special Divine blessing in reaching heights of accomplishment heretofore never dreamed of by the faithful “Who Dat Nation.”  That when that fateful coin toss came up ‘heads’, it wasn’t simply ‘luck’… but God’s providence.

            So, am I saying that God is intervening on the behalf of the Saints (the football variety, that is)?  That His hand guided the rotation of that coin to land the way it did?  That I believe that God really cares who wins a football game?  NO.   I am not.  But I will tell you what I DO believe about God.  I DO believe that He cares deeply about each and every one of us.  I DO believe that His heart grieved for all those people whose lives were savagely torn from its ‘foundation’ (literally) and cast out into the ‘wilderness’… much like those ancient Hebrews who were also ‘homeless’, wandering around for 40 years. ..yet never apart from the protection of their Lord.  I DO believe   that God rejoices in the unbounded joy that our whole state… our region… indeed, many around the country…   are experiencing in the euphoria of this moment.  Certainly, in the wake of Katrina, there wasn’t a lot of ‘joy’ involved.  So many felt the painful stench of loss… what our football Saints have given us is the sweet aroma of victory. 

       And ultimately, I DO believe that no matter what happens today…yes, win or lose… will not be the result of mere luck.  But, in the end, this game… which we must remember, as huge as it is to us, is just a blip on God’s radar screen… will in some way serve for the fulfillment of God’s purposes for the lives of his people.  And yes, God’s plan might yet be carried out even if the Saints…lose!

            Yes, events don’t always turn out the way we want them to, and yet, in the end, God works things out.  Consider this story of Joseph and his family.  Consumed by jealousy and sibling rivalry gone amuck, Joseph’s brother sold him to some slave traders.  Quite literally, gave him up for dead… for after sending him off, he was, for all practical purposes, dead to them.  And yet, despite this treacherous betrayal by his own brothers, Joseph would wind up in the household of the most powerful man in the land:  Pharaoh.  Not only IN the house, but RUNNING it!  And because of the authority Joseph had in Pharaoh’s kingdom, he was in a position to be of great help to his family when they came to the Egyptian ruler for assistance.  That is, if he chose not to repay ‘evil for evil,’ but instead give them what they needed to live.

            And, gee, wasn’t it a great stroke of ‘luck’ for ‘Joe’s bros’ that it just happened to be their ‘long, lost’ brother in this position of influence and power?  ‘LUCK?’  Hardly!  It was all part of God’s plan.  Not only did God place Joseph just where he needed to be to save his family from death, but he also put on his heart a sense of charity and forgiveness.  That no matter what they had done to him, no matter that they had betrayed their very own brother, Joseph knew in his heart of hearts that he must ‘turn the other cheek’ (a concept not yet developed!). 

     Joseph knew, by looking at this whole experience through God’s eyes, that all that had happened to him had a purpose.  In his words, “it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.”  God allowed the mistreatment of his faithful servant so that in the end, lives would be saved.  Hmmm… sounds familiar, doesn’t it?  Like what happened with Jesus…?

            What looked like just so much ‘bad luck’ turned out to be of life-saving importance in Joseph’s case.  He saw that God had used ‘unfortunate circumstances’ to allow him to bring ‘great fortune’ to those whom he loved.   This is why we must always keep our personal circumstances in perspective.  We can look at our current situation and wonder why God has allowed so much hardship, such pain and suffering.  We must strive to see our lives through God’s eyes… that its not really about what ‘momentary affliction’ we are experiencing, but more importantly, how we REACT to those afflictions.  We must trust that in the end, God’s purposes for our lives will be brought to fruition.  The challenge for us is to understand just what God’s purpose for us really is.

            One of those purposes is laid out for us in the parable of Jesus we have just heard.  The woman had 10 coins, and lost one.  She could have simply said, ‘Well, I’ve still got nine, so I’m OK.  I’ll just turn on the latest episode of “Biggest Loser,” and I won’t feel so bad about myself.   Its just a little bit of bad luck.’  No, she knew that the one coin was still of great value, and was worth her effort in searching for it.  And when she did, she was so excited she went and told all of her friends and neighbors, who shared in her joy.

        My friends, there are a lot of ‘lost coins’ out there.  People of great value to God who don’t value Him in return.  Folks who don’t understand why you could be in a church, of your own free will, on a beautiful Sunday morning… Super Bowl Sunday, for crying out loud!  My brothers and sisters in Christ, there are people out there who, if we don’t go out and seek them out, will be lost forever… as in, an eternity.

            It is these ‘lost souls’ who would probably say that the lady’s finding of the coin was just so much ‘luck.’  Well, there is an old saying that comes to mind, which says that “Luck is the precipitation of hard work.”  Of course, I would substitute “God’s providence is the precipitation of hard work.”  The woman found the coin because she made the effort to.  When you find something that you have lost, it is because you made the effort to look for it.  You expend the time and energy because its important to you.  Your car keys.  A book or magazine.  A special “Who dat?” shirt.  If you would expend the effort to look for objects that have a limited earthly value, how much more should you seek out a person who has eternal worth?  Like Jesus said, “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  Just a little work here on earth can result in a lot of joy in heaven…

          This evening, I am hoping that there will be a lot of joy right here on earth… maybe not so  much in Indianapolis, but right here in S. LA and Florida.  And I sure hope it won’t come down to a ‘coin toss.’  But regardless of the outcome, let us try to keep things in perspective.  It IS ‘just a game.’  Remember, the greatest award in life is NOT the Lombardi Trophy, but rather, the crown of life.   The one we are to worship is not ‘Brees-us’… but Jesus.  No matter what happens, keep your head held high.  Not merely because of the football Saints… but because of the faithful saints.  Those who have been sent ahead of you to save your life.  Keep your eyes fixed not on a television…but fixed on Jesus.  His victory is the only one that really counts…