Losers

The headline in the sports section of the Columbus Dispatch revealed the bad news in large font: “Trail Blazers 111, Cavaliers 105: Futility mark belongs to Cavs.” On February 5, the Cleveland Cavaliers earned the dubious distinction of setting the NBA record for consecutive losses in a single season. Their loss to the Portland Trailblazers marked their 24th consecutive loss in a row, vaulting them past the 1997\98 Denver Nuggets. Apparently, the post-Lebron James era for the Cavs has been, to put it mildly, difficult. The opening sentences in the previously-mentioned article were painfully blunt: “The losing streak has been long, painful and embarrassing. It's now historic. The Cleveland Cavaliers have the NBA's record for futility all to themselves.”

The even-worse news is that the human race can sympathize with the Cavaliers. We have our own long, painful, and embarrassing record of futility. Ever since the failure of Adam and Eve, we have been amassing an unbreakable record of consecutive defeats. We’ve earned every bit of the negative press we have received. One “reporter” put it this way: “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:10-12). How do I know all this? Because I have contributed my own fair share of sinful defeats to the losing streak.

The good news is that we don’t have to be known as losers forever. We can become part of a winning team. The Son of God has a winning streak that surpasses our losing streak. In fact, He has never been defeated. Mercifully, God has provided a way for humanity’s embarrassing record of futility to be removed from the record books. By God’s grace and through my faith in Him, I am on a winning team. I am a child of God. Even though I still fail, don’t call me a loser! I am a winner in Jesus!

God loves you!
Mike