By Krista Pirtle
Sports writer
Texas A&M to the SEC. Maybe. Oklahoma and Texas are scoping and hoping in the Pac-12. Syracuse and Pittsburgh have joined the ACC. Baylor to (fill in blank here.)
Unlike the T-shirts we give to incoming freshmen, we don’t know where we’re going. Conference realignment has dominated daily conversations. Why? Because the future is unclear, and things change every day. As a student and die-hard sports fan, the mystery of how next year will look captivates my attention. I can make predictions, but they will change minute by minute. The future of Baylor athletics lies on a shaky foundation right now.
Imagine if your life was the same way. You have heard of heaven and hell. Daily you were wondering where you would end up. How exhausting is that – trying to do more good things than bad, saying the right things, going to church on Sundays and constantly living in fear of your eternal destination.
As a Christian, I have been blessed with the gift of salvation and the eternal promise it brings. You see, if my works are what get me into heaven, then Jesus died and rose for nothing. His death is what gives me life. If you step back and look at all the different religions, Christianity stands out because it celebrates the death of Jesus.
Other religions focus on the life of their god and mourn the death; however, as a Christian I see Christ’s life as an example but his death as extraordinary. I rejoice in his death because now, when I accept salvation, my eternal destiny is solidified in heaven. Once I claim this salvation, it will never be taken away.
In Ephesians, Paul talks about how the Holy Spirit lives inside the believer and acts as a seal guaranteeing the inheritance, which is heaven. This situation is not like A&M where you receive a letter of acceptance but aren’t official just yet.
“Amazing Grace” – everyone has heard this song. The latter half of the second verse says, “How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.” When you accept God’s gift of life, there is no awkward period of wondering if it worked. It’s the hour you first believed. God’s grace and promise of life is instant. When I was 6, at that instant, my eternal destination for heaven was guaranteed.
It’s been 14 years, and both good and bad things have happened in my life. But nothing can strip that seal from me.
Living with such confidence in the future is a blessing I overlook every day. Instead of rejoicing in it, I worry about grades, what kind of job I will get after I graduate and sometimes even about where Baylor will end up after this game of conference musical chairs.
The fact that I don’t have to worry about where I will be eternally is the best blessing, not because I am promised Heaven and the rewards for bringing God glory, but because it means spending eternity with my Savior. My life is not founded on shaky ground that changes every second; it is founded upon a rock, the cornerstone Jesus Christ.
All the drama will eventually be settled involving college athletics, but what’s most important is being able to know without a shadow of a doubt your eternal destination.
Krista Pirtle is a junior journalism major from Olney and is a sports writer for the Lariat.
