Chaplains Corner
"Game of Change"
From Our Daily Bread
by Patricia Raybon
On a March
night in 1963, two college basketball players, one
Black, one White – defied the hate of segregationists
and shook hands, marking the first time in
Mississippi State’s history that its all-White men’s
team played against an integrated team. To compete
in the “game of change”, against Loyola University
Chicago in a national tournament, the Mississippi
State squad avoided an injunction to stop them by
using decoy players to leave their state. Loyola’s
Black players, meantime, had endured racial slurs all
season, getting pelted with popcorn and ice, and
faced closed doors while traveling.
Yet the young men played. The Loyola Ramblers
beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs 61-51, and Loyola
eventually went on to win the NCAA national
championship. But what really won that night? A
move from hate toward love. As Jesus taught, “Love
your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke
6:27).
God’s instruction was a life-changing concept. To
love our enemies as Christ taught, we must obey His
revolutionary mandate to change. As Paul wrote, “If
anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The
old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians:5:17)
But how does His new way in us defeat the old?
With love. Then, in each other, we can finally see
Him!