After 21 years, college basketball fan, Craig Caswell, has now seen every Division I men’s basketball team play live. According to The Washington Post, he completed his checklist of 364 teams on Saturday when American lost to Lehigh in Washington D.C. While on his countrywide journey, he saw 442 games in 131 venues, claiming his favorite arena is Pittsburgh’s Petersen Events Center because it feels "intimate." Victoria Hernandez on USATODAY.com wrote, “Caswell started his journey in 2002 when he attended a game between Dayton and George Washington. He fell in love with college basketball in 2008 as a freshman at Bowling Green. Being able to take in the scene of a game against Wayne State from a courtside seat gave him an unquenchable passion for the sport.” Caswell explained to The Washington Post his mindset and reasoning for this adventure saying, “I thought: ‘I love to travel, and I love college basketball. How feasible would it be to see every team in Division I?’ I was determined to basically consume as much college basketball as I could going forward. All the years since have involved a lot of deliberate planning to try to achieve that goal.” What an awesome accomplishment and I'm sure many of us are contemplating how we can do something similar, ha! The reality is, most of us watch college basketball from the comfort of our couches, but we do realize there's such a difference when seeing the players up close and personal and being in their presence. I love how Craig Caswell's passion for the game led to his desire to witness each team for himself instead of only watching them on TV or hearing about them from others. In our own lives, a comparison can be made between hearing about God and watching others experience Him versus knowing Him personally and encountering Him ourselves. Thankfully, we don’t have to travel all over the country to be up close and personal with the God of the universe. He made a way for us to know Him and enjoy Him when He sent Jesus to save us. Jesus prayed this before He went to the cross in John 17:3 (AMP): “Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” As followers of Jesus, we now have the opportunity for an intimate relationship with Him and access to His presence. Witnessing Christ's work in our lives “in person,” we have a front-row seat to His power and grace. So when we love Him and get a taste of His goodness “from a courtside seat,” it results in “an unquenchable passion for Him.” Isaiah 26:9 (AMP) declares, “In the night my soul longs for You , Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently…” Psalm 73:25 (NLT) says, “Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth.” Again, here is what Craig Caswell said: “I was determined to basically consume as much college basketball as I could going forward. All the years since have involved a lot of deliberate planning to try to achieve that goal.” With that in mind, let’s be determined to consume as much of God and His Word as we can going forward as we deliberately plan to seek Him and be in His presence.“Come close to God and He will come close to you…” (James 4:8; AMP). Today, let’s have the passion to know God for ourselves and have a deep personal faith in Jesus. Instead of just hearing others talk about their experience with the Lord, let’s go and enjoy Him and “Taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8; NIV). I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I want to know You and experience Your goodness in a very real and powerful way. I pray I wouldn’t hold back from pursuing You with all of my heart. I want to see You for who You really are. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR PACKS:
1. What is the difference between knowing about God from a distance vs. being close to Him and in His presence?
2. In what ways have you seen God up close and personal work in your life?
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