Basketball and the Kingdom of God
I’d like to share a genuine need with you. It’s one, I feel certain, many of you would like to get involved with.
My wife, Sherri, and I live in a neighborhood in which approximately eighty percent of the homes were built by Habitat for Humanity. Having lived here for about a year and a half, we have been blessed to meet and develop close relationships with many of our neighbors. And I can tell you, personally, that the opportunities to own homes provided by Habitat for Humanity are literally changing lives, especially among the many children in our neighborhood.
But there’s a problem. Basketball is, by far, the most popular sport among the kids in our neighborhood. Several homes have moveable basketball goals on the street where the kids live. It’s the only level place to put them. Sadly, some neighbors have complained, and homes with basketball goals on the street have been forced to remove them. The result is our kids have no place to play.
Now, instead of hearing the happy sound of balls bouncing and kids playing, I witness our children walking round and round our circular neighborhood. They’re bored, and they’re restless, and they need someone to help. That’s why I’m sharing this problem with you.
This week I will be talking with the head of the Habitat for Humanity organization in our city. I’ll be asking for their help in building a basketball court in the common area located in the middle of our neighborhood. I’d like to ask you to pray for God’s grace and guidance in this project. I may even be asking for some contributions to help.
It’s funny, really, to think about how this post came to be. I was in the middle of writing a devotional on mustard seeds, that is, the little seemingly insignificant things that make such a powerful difference in the lives of others and serve as witnesses of God’s kingdom at work among us.
I paused, shut my laptop, and began thinking about the fact I did not hear the usual sound of a Saturday afternoon basketball game. I had noticed a couple of days ago that the basketball goals had gone missing. That’s when I got up and walked down the street to my neighbor’s house and asked what happened. I wasn’t surprised, but I was crushed to hear about the forced removal of the goals.
Supporting our children is vital for our future as well as theirs. In Korea, our Mustard Seed preschools in Seoul and outside the military base in Pyeontaek made a difference in the lives of so many children. I saw this personally, and now that I’m living in a neighborhood filled with children, I see how crucial it is to nurture and encourage them.
In your prayers, please remember our neighborhood and our children. They are the little mustard seeds that need to be planted and watered in order to grow into the men and women God is calling them to be.
I’ll keep you posted on how things are going.
In Christ,
Dan