Every Possession Matters

I am a Mavs fan, which has been emotionally complicated since the Luka trade.

I have found myself watching the Spurs and Thunder. Not because I have suddenly changed teams. Let’s not get carried away. But because I love good basketball. And this year's Western Conference Finals matchup has been really good.

The teams are so evenly matched. The intensity is high. Momentum keeps shifting. No lead feels completely safe. Every missed assignment matters. Every rebound matters. Every possession matters.

That is what makes it fun to watch. It is also what makes it exhausting.

You can’t really look away because the game can turn so quickly. 

One careless pass.
One defensive stop.
One big shot.
One extra effort.

Suddenly, everything feels different.

And I have been thinking about how much of life feels that way.

Most of us are not living in one big dramatic moment all the time. We are living possession by possession. One conversation. One decision. One text message. One act of patience. One apology. One prayer. One moment when we choose to show up instead of checking out.

This next week begins the Horizon Texas Annual Conference, and one of the gifts of annual conference is seeing people I have known across the years, people I may only see at these gatherings. It reminds me that faith is not only lived in the big public moments. It is also lived in the long faithfulness of people who keep showing up, year after year, season after season, possession after possession.

This Sunday, we will spend time with John 3:16, probably the most well-known verse in the Bible. You have seen it on posters at major sporting events and probably can quote it. Yet, John 3:16 is more than a slogan, because love is not abstract. Love shows up in real moments, small choices, and faithful possessions.

I hope you will join us in person or online this Sunday as we listen again for God’s word to us and how we are called to receive that love and live it one faithful moment at a time. 

Maybe this week, before Sunday, consider what John 3:16 means to you and how it has shaped your life and faith.

With Gratitude,

Rev. Rodney Whitfield
Senior Pastor
Aldersgate UMC