March Mad-Zag-Ness

The results of last night’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament game between Gonzaga and West Virginia were not known at the time of this writing, but I am writing in the spirit of a fan who believes they will have won, and advanced to the “Elite Eight” round, which will be big headlines in today’s papers. If not, we will all be disappointed, the point of this article will have lost a little of its punch, but not it’s essential truth — which is why I am continuing to write about it.

Once considered a David among Goliaths, and a Cinderella sensation back in 1999, Gonzaga has steadily gained respect and regard among the collegiate elites in recent years. Now they have another opportunity to show that they deserve this regard, by advancing further in the “Big Show” then they have before.

The saga of Gonzaga is a modern-day picture of a God-saga which is illustrated in many different ways throughout the Bible. Biblical characters like Moses, Gideon, Esther, David, Amos, Jesus’ mother Mary, and Zaccheaus — among others — either considered themselves, or were considered by others as too small and insignificant to accomplish much of anything in their lives. God thought otherwise, and demonstrated His power and grace through them.

The Bible tells us to look to the ants, coneys, locusts and lizards for wisdom in how to conduct our lives. It shows us that God chooses the smallest and least among peoples and places — the tribe of Benjamin, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the nation of Israel — to exalt the humble, and humble the proud. It cautions us not to despise the day of small things, and Jesus said that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains.

The Apostle Paul wrote that God chooses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chooses the lowly and despised things to nullify the high and idolized. In his own life, he learned the hard way that God’s power was made perfect in his weakness, and that when he was weak in himself, he became strong in the Lord. The writer of Hebrews said that the weaknesses of those listed in the “Faith Hall of Fame” (Chapter 11) was turned to strength through their faith, and they became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

So what’s the point of all this for us today? Do you sometimes feel like a small, weak, insignificant Gonzaga? Congratulations. In God’s rankings, you’re a No.1. He’s looking for people like you, who are not all high and mighty in their own minds, but are humble, pliable and usable … just like the disciples that Jesus chose. This qualifies you to be a part of His ongoing Gonzaga-like God-saga. Do you see the crown He’s holding out to you? Offer yourself to Him in humility, and He will enable you to win it. Go Gonzaga. Go God-saga.

Pastor Jon L. Pomeroy is pastor at Sandpoint Church of God.