Exult!

I get pretty excited about sports; well, some sports.  Gotta admit, I’m not really a baseball fan, even though I do love the sound of a bat cracking when it meets the ball.  I like sporting venues that bring a little more action.  That’s why I like basketball; and, the fact that I fell in love with a former basketball player.  I also enjoy watching the fans at sporting events.  Seriously, don’t you get a kick out observing them?  I’m always intrigued at the ones who paint their body’s team colors, or wear team shirts and wave those stupid foam fingers.  I’ve been amazed at the long lines they will endure just to enter an arena, or the amount of money they pay to sit in an uncomfortable seat (worse yet, some of them never even enjoy the seat they purchased – they stand the whole time).  Maybe that’s why I’ve never heard a fan complain about the seats.  I am shocked at those enthusiasts that enter a lottery in order to be able to park in a stadium lot. Or, the ones who drive to the stadium, tailgate, and watch the game on a little TV in the back of their SUV, because they can’t afford to park in the parking garage, or pay the price of admission into the game, yet still want to hover in the atmosphere.  I smile big when I see how carried away these same groupies get when their team scores.  Timid people turn into living tornadoes when their favorite player creates positive motion on the court or on the field (the very thing they are often paid to do).  I have to laugh at some of the antics – fans contort their fingers into odd shapes to symbolize their support; they leap up and down; jump on each other’s backs; run around; scream and yell until they lose their voices (they may not even be at the game doing these things; they may simply be on their couches).  I watch, I smile, I laugh, but I also recognize this is normal behavior at a ball game.  Normal!  These are signs of exultation, and exultation is the norm when something big happens at a sporting event.  And, yes (I know, bad grammar to start a sentence with “and”), I do it, too.

So, if this is the norm when something big happens in athletics, what should be the norm when something big happens in life?  Paul tells us in Romans, right after he lights up the sky with those two stars: by.in.  Take a look.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope (emphasis mine) of the glory of God.  And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing...the love of God has been poured out within our hearts...And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

(Romans 5: 1-3, 5, 11)

When after dark days of sin-filled hopelessness, I receive justification...EXULT!

When following confusion and anxiety, I find peace...EXULT!

When life is hard, yet I grow in character and perseverance, and experience the love of God filling me up to overflowing...EXULT!

When I’ve felt the sting of rejection, abandonment, and separation from God, and I receive new life, reconciliation and purpose...EXULT!

These are life events I call mine because of the Resurrection.  These are game-changers, the positive motion created on the court of this sporting event called “my life”.  These are the touchdowns, the free throw shots, the goals, the trys (rugby terminology), and the hole-in-one that bring the “W”.  So, what is my response?  Is it to exult?

Let’s define the word.  Here are a few synonyms:  revel, glory, triumph, rejoice, party, cheer, celebrate wildly, express great joy, elation, delight, jubilation, and exuberation.  The word, like merit-monger, was coined in the 16^th century from a French word “exulter,” which meant to “keep leaping up, or to leap out.”  Next Sunday is Easter.  Resurrection Sunday.  A day set aside to remember my justification, peace with God, the overflowing love of my resurrected, victorious Savior, and my new life.  What will be my response to the hero who won the game for me?  Will I leap up and cheer?  Will I jump up and down?  Will I shout and scream and lose my voice, the way I did when Bay’s team won the national championship?  Probably not; but, why not?

Apparently Paul did...and it was NORMAL.