Texas Baptists Committed - A Rancher's Rumblings, March 25, 2008

First of all, a point of personal privilege.

I am honored to serve on the Board of Trustees of Howard Payne University (HPU) in Brownwood, my alma mater and the school from which my son Chad graduated after transferring from Baylor.

Howard Payne is a special place – just perfect for kids who need a more personal touch and smaller classes. I went to college with some of the members of the faculty there, whom I admire greatly.

Let me brag on HPU a moment. Yesterday, our women’s basketball team won the Division III national championship, finishing the year 33-0. Now I do not care what class or division you play in, high school or college – to go undefeated is very special. It rarely happens (think New England Patriots).

I watched the game on TV, and mercy – did those girls hustle and play their hearts out! They just “willed” themselves to win.

I’m writing this on Easter Sunday, and trust me – all of this ties into Easter.

Howard Payne (like Mary Hardin-Baylor, Hardin-Simmons, and other small BGCT-related schools) does not give athletic scholarships. However, we can give grants, and 25% of our student body consists of athletes – many of whom are not considered talented enough to play for big schools, although watching those girls yesterday made me wonder about that!

The larger point that I want to make is that Howard Payne and other small BGCT-related schools attract many students who just want to play sports a little longer. This gives us a wonderful opportunity to tell them about Jesus while they are on campus. Our sports programs provide us with one of our greatest opportunities for evangelistic outreach. We can use these sports activities to teach students what Easter is all about.

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This morning, as I sat in church with Lance and Chad, I found myself thinking about this column and realized that I still had no clue what to write for an Easter column this year. I knew that I felt really good about the column I wrote about Easter last year – in fact, the San Angelo Standard Times chose to publish it. But I found myself stumped about this year’s Easter column.

After church, we had Easter lunch as a family, combining it with a birthday party for my step-grandson. We had generations of family gathered together – cousins, grandparents, and even great-grandparents. I am very blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Luke turned 5 today, March 23. He is the youngest of my seven grandchildren (until Lance and Chad get with the program).

I watched as Luke opened a card containing five $1 bills. Then, as he opened a card containing a $5 bill, there came to mind an old story told by John Claypool – the greatest communicator of the Gospel that I have ever heard.

Dr. Claypool once told a story about asking his two kids to do a chore for him. When they finished, he gave one child a dime and gave the other child a nickel and five pennies. The one who got the dime protested that she did not get as much as her sibling. Her dad replied that the dime was worth just as much as the nickel and five pennies.

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The child who got the dime asked, “Why?”

Dr. Claypool thought for a while and finally replied, “because the government says so.”

He then explained that the government – as the “creator” of our money – decrees that a dime is worth a nickel and five pennies, just as it decrees that a $1 bill is worth four quarters. The worth of money comes from the creator of the money, or at least the backer of the money.

Then he went on to reflect on why human beings are worth more than any other part of creation, saying that it is “because the Creator says so.”

Our worth comes from God, our Creator. Easter is God showing us just how much He really cares for us – so much that He sent His “only begotten son,” as the King James Version puts it, that we might have eternal life.

Somehow the Church needs to get it right – to be faithful to Jesus’ teaching and example by understanding that no one is more important than anyone else – whether rich or poor; black, brown, red, yellow, or white; male or female. Easter was not exclusive; it was inclusive. There were no exceptions. Christ died for all of us, and He rose for all of us – even sinners like you and me.

Tell someone about that this week. They might just need to hear it.