Underdog

Watch the video first. And turn up the volume.
If you’re anything like me, that video hits you in the soul, your eyes light up, your adrenaline spikes and you think to yourself, “Man, I love sports.” But ,maybe there is more to it than just sport. Maybe, something inside my soul cherishes the underdog, something loves the defiance of expectation, something begs for greatness to emerge from the weak or the unknown. Think about it, movies are seldom made focusing on the team expected to win the championship; instead, we flock to watch the story of the unexpected nobodies achieving the impossible. Movies like Rudy, Miracle, Remember the Titans, and, yes, even Mighty Ducks tug at our souls engaging something inside of us that yearns for the triumph of the human spirit over the seemingly insurmountable foe. Maybe it’s no mistake or a fabrication of society that this yearning is weaved into the very fiber of humanity.

There is a line in the middle of the video that says, “Sometimes passion has a funny way of trumping logic.” To that line I simply respond, “Amen.” There is nothing logical about the death on a cross of a man dying for the soul of a putrid, undeserving, wicked woman like ME. There is nothing logical about the shameful exposure of Jesus’ naked body at Golgotha FOR ME. There is nothing logical about my heavenly Father being pleased to shame his son FOR ME. But again, passion on that day trumped logic, and it will again, and again as long as God is in charge.

And since Christ went to the Cross for me, my soul was invited to rejoice in the greatest underdog triumph in all of humanity. Think about it, the entire Old Testament pointed towards the coming Messiah. The Hope of the Jewish people rested in this “wonderful counselor” they had only heard about, read about, prayed for, and longed for. And finally, as prophesy said it would, he came!!! He came!!! But, oh no, he came as a baby? To a virgin mother? But, Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and around 30 he began to do ministry. But, what is this? Our Messiah, our Great Deliverer, is not concerned with the upheaval of Caesar and the government? And, he teaches that we are to turn the other cheek and love our neighbors as a Samaritan would? Where is our victory!? Where is our Messiah?! And then, as the history books tell us and our Bible testifies, they killed our Messiah. He was supposed to be the one, the one who was to save us all, and they killed him. Where is our victory?! Where is our triumph?!…It was fourth down, it was the bottom of the ninth, backs were against the ropes, all hope was lost, death was stronger, death was mightier, and death was winning…but three days later, oh! Three days later, our underdog, our deliverer, our Messiah sprang forth from that tomb and our King won the battle of all battles and has offered the riches of his victory to us.

Oh yes, something inside of me yearns for the underdog to win, and Christ satisfied that yearning and has welcomed me to walk in that victory with him. So, as that video says, Folks, “we’ve got ourselves a game”…and to that I would add, and we already know the outcome.