Justice

The NCAA men's basketball tournament breeds controversy and cries of injustice. There are always teams who feel they deserve an at-large bid to the tournament and have their hopes crushed by the selection committee. The 2004 tournament selection was no different. Texas-El Paso snuck in with a 19-13 record, while Utah State, ranked No. 22 in the country with a 25-3 record, got snubbed. Then there are others who made it in, but feel they did not get the seed they deserved. Mama always told me, "Life isn't fair."

There are some comparisons we can make between the NCAA tournament and our lives. First, the regular season in basketball is like our days on the earth. They are both preparation for the hope of something greater to come. Second, there are selection committees that determine who makes it into the tournament and who makes it into Heaven.

But there is one major difference in this comparison. The NCAA tournament selection committee is made up of a group of fallible men who do their best to fill a certain number of available openings. The selection committee for Heaven is made up of an infallible, just God who makes eternal life available for everyone on earth. So why does God send people to Hell? The interesting thing is that God allows us to play a role in our eternal destination based on our relationship with Jesus Christ. Therefore, God doesn't send people to Hell, He simply honors the choice of those who reject Jesus (John 3:36). If God did not honor the choice of those who reject Jesus, He would not be a just God because He would be denying the very free will that He has given man.

This is one of the great truths about God: He is fair. Even though we may be treated unfairly by people in this life, we can have confidence that God will always treat us with justice.