Abound, Then Rebound

ABOUND, THEN REBOUND

Abundant Love must REBOUND. Rebounding, as every good basketball team knows, is the cutting edge between defense and offense. Whichever team rebounds most successfully becomes the team in control of the ball. The team that rebounds becomes the offense, goes on the move and heads toward the basket. Failure to rebound puts a team continually in a defensive posture, striving to protect its basket from the offensive team's onslaught.

Great rebounders take whatever comes their way, hurl themselves at the ball, and take possession of it for the sake of the team. How good a rebounder are you? As Christians who are called to "abound in love," we must take whatever hits us and rebound it with love.

Considering the world we live in and the endangered status that love seems to hold there, there is a good chance that what will hit us won't be love. The Christian's challenge is to rebound love when we are clobbered with hate; to rebound love when we are jabbed with jealousy; to rebound love when we are shoved by pettiness; to rebound love when we are floored by dishonesty; to rebound love when we are plowed over by prejudice.

The next time you find yourselves in the midst of an almost riotous holiday shopping mob, try practicing your rebounding skills.

-- Can you rebound love to the surly, sour-faced, part-time store clerk who doesn't see and doesn't care that you are trying to be polite and easygoing?

-- Can you rebound love to the teacher who is going to assign you a 10-page paper to do over Christmas break?

-- Can you rebound love to the office-mate who takes credit for your work and takes advantage of your good nature?

-- Can you rebound love to the phone-marketing drone who calls during the dinner hour?

-- Can you rebound love to militia maniacs, Ku Klux Klanners, Conservatives, Liberals, Democrats, Republicans, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Gen-Xers, Boomers, Busters and Boosters?

Do you abound in that much love . . . to rebound?