On March 16, 2018 Coach Tony Bennett and his University of Virginia men’s basketball team made history by losing to the University of Maryland- Baltimore County. They became the 1st #1 seed team to ever lose to a #16 seed team in The NCAA Basketball Tournament.

The potential for embarrassment and criticism could not have been more intense as sports reporters interviewed Coach Bennett after the game. Coach Bennett came across as a man of class and grace. When I first heard that Virginia lost, I was upset that something so awful like this could happen to a man and coach who has such a good character and a faithful Christian testimony.

Refined By Fire

For example, Kevin Machina, a reporter with the Christian sports publication, Sports Spectrum, wrote the following quote of Coach Bennett’s on Spectrum’s Facebook page: “I have great things in my life – my love for my wife, my love for my family, my love for coaching, my love for basketball. Those are wonderful things, but when you line them up in comparison to Christ and the relationship you have with Him, with what He’s done for you and with what He’s given you, they don’t compare. That’s the greatest truth I know.” These words were shared by Coach Bennett before the huge upset loss.

To say that the loss tested the genuineness of Coach Bennett’s commitment is a major understatement. He came through the test with flying colours. As reporter Machina heard and read Coach Bennett’s words regarding the historic upset loss, Machina began to see the silver lining of Virginia’s loss: “Maybe this was an opportunity for people to see that who you are as a person is more important than winning and losing”.

Machina goes on to write the following: “And maybe it is an opportunity to show that the greatest truth Coach Bennett knows and the promise that God gives each of us, does not change whether we win the championship or lose an embarrassing game”. I thank the Lord for the faithfulness of Christians like Coach Bennett who have been given a visible platform to serve the Lord. They have been given a great privilege and blessing from the Lord, but this always entails great responsibility as well.

All of Christ’s Followers Are Tested

No matter who we are as followers of Christ, all of us have been blessed by the Lord in great ways. The Lord calls us to be good stewards of these blessings, and to be faithful as we serve the Lord and others in the world. Furthermore, as God blesses us, He will also allow tests in our lives to purify our hearts and to prove the genuineness of our faith.

Let me close with the words of Peter in 1 Peter 1:6,7:

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

May we be faithful in our lives before others and may they see Jesus shine brightly through us, especially as we experience the inevitable disappointments of life. To God be the glory, for He is good all the time.

QOTD: How do you respond when you are tested by the disappointments and sufferings of life?