The NCAA men’s basketball tournament has gotten off to a tremendous start with multiple overtime games, tight finishes, and one buzzer-beater from Colorado. We've seen some fun first-round upsets from surprising teams like Yale, Oakland, Grand Canyon, and Duquesne. As we look at the Sweet 16 teams remaining, however, the majority are top seeds and top programs. All four of the No. 1 seeds and No. 2 seeds are moving on to next weekend. Also, 12 of the Sweet 16 teams are seeded 1-4 with the other four being Gonzaga, San Diego State, Clemson, and NC State. While we enjoyed many competitive games over the weekend, most top teams didn’t just win - they convincingly put away their opponent. UConn put away Northwestern 75-58, Duke put away James Madison 93-55, Purdue put away Utah St. 106-67, Illinois put away Duquesne 89-63, and San Diego St. put away Yale 85-57. Despite the game going to double overtime, Creighton still put away Oregon by 13 points, 86-73. Michigan State and UNC had a tough matchup for a while, but eventually, the Tar Heels put away the Spartans with an 85-69 win. The key for most of these winning teams was getting the big lead, not letting their opponent hang around, and not allowing them to catch up or get close by being careless or cocky or lackadaisical. Even the teams that had the big lead early, couldn’t just think they were in the clear and then lose focus or not try as hard. Instead, we saw the top teams keep their foot on the gas, continue to distance themselves, and destroy their opponent. The last thing they wanted to do was give the other team a chance to get back in the game. As we reflect on the number of teams who had blowout wins, put away the other team, and advanced to the Sweet 16, there's a parallel to how we as followers of Jesus “put away” sin in our lives. Thankfully, Jesus sacrificed His life on the cross on our behalf, saving those who put their trust in Him from the penalty of sin which is death. He also “put away” the power of sin as Hebrews 9:26 (TLB) tells us, “...He came once for all, at the end of the age, to put away the power of sin forever by dying for us.” When we place our faith in Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit, we rely on Him to help us distance ourselves and “put away” sin. The following verses give us great encouragement (emphasis added): “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness…” (James 1:21; ESV). “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander” (1 Peter 2:1; ESV). “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:25; ESV). “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31; ESV). “When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11; NLT). The key for us as we grow and mature in our faith and become more like Jesus is we “put away” sin and don't let it hang around or allow it to “catch up or get close” by being careless or cocky or lackadaisical. Even when we have a “big lead” and are confident we aren’t going to let that sin “back in the game,” we can’t just think we're totally in the clear and then lose focus or not try as hard to continue to destroy the sins that are trying to "come back." Instead, we must keep our foot on the gas, distance ourselves, and take “blowing out” and defeating sin seriously. The last thing we want is to give sin a chance to get “back in the game.” Today, let’s not forget that Jesus put away the power of sin through His death and resurrection and we now rely on His power within us to help us put away sinful attitudes, behaviors, and mindsets. I’m Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to defeat sin and death so that I can experience freedom and salvation. Please help me put away sin and live a holy and obedient life by the power of the Holy Spirit. I pray I won’t lose focus, take my eyes off Jesus, and become prideful or self-righteous, allowing sin to creep back in. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
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