Mesa Musings:

It’s Game 5 tonight — the Lakers vs. the Nuggets — in the NBA’s Western Conference Finals.

In a few hours I’ll have an opportunity to watch a game of considerable import here on the Mesa, and I’ll also witness a theological truth.

The above statement, I know, sounds strange, but hear me out. To me, the NBA has brought clarity to one of God’s imponderables: why humans undergo pain and death. It would be so much easier if life were but a cheerful romp! But, alas, we realize that’s not the case.

In his book, “A Grief Observed,” Christian apologist C.S. Lewis — who’d just experienced a season of severe pain — says life has meaning because death and suffering also have meaning.

I tend to wear my faith on my sleeve. Over the years, countless friends have informed me that they choose not to be believers because they can’t accept a god who would allow human suffering. Lewis likens life to a bridge game. Players won’t take seriously a game without betting. “It (won’t) be serious if nothing much is staked on it,” he rightly observes. Life is nothing if not serious.

I, too, am vexed by suffering and pain, but I accept it as a precondition for my existence. Our creator established life’s parameters — including free will and consequences for actions. Lest I be misinterpreted, I don’t mean to imply he intentionally inflicts misery and calamity. We’re capable of doing that ourselves. But the author of life permits it, and often uses tragedy to reach out to us.

A dozen years ago, I heard a pastor draw a comparison between life and an NBA basketball game. I’m a simple man, and the analogy made sense.

What makes NBA basketball such a wonderful game? Talented players? Brilliant strategy? Last-second shots? The game is what it is because of a single overriding factor — a time clock. Players have a finite timeframe — 48 minutes — in which to perform.

We live finite lives: three score and 10, if we’re lucky.

For Kobe, Carmelo and Pau, tonight’s game, like life, will be extemporaneous. On-the-spot decisions will be made, the unexpected will prevail, and high-priced superstars will risk serious injury (look at what happened to Yao Ming in the previous series). Three-point shots will fall, or not. A physical battle will ensue under the backboards. Nothing will be spared in the pursuit of victory. And the outcome will not be known from the beginning. Anything can happen.

One solitary factor — a clock — will hold everything together, like gravity.

But what if NBA commissioner David Stern decided to suspend the rules for tonight? What if the scoreboard were turned off (quashing any sense of urgency), and what if the exhibition were permitted to extend for as long as players wished to remain on the floor?

Absent a scoreboard, the game would devolve into schoolyard one-on-one forays, half-court shooting demonstrations and slam-dunk fests. Fans would delight in the athletic display — for a while. But things would ultimately become tedious, and the crowd would begin moving toward the exits.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I serve one who’s compassionate and a respecter of individual freedom. He established life’s rules and set the clock in motion; then stepped aside and allowed us to play. Dangers lurk, but, like the NBA, rewards can be breathtaking.

God is not indifferent to our condition, nor is he unfamiliar with our suffering. His son died on the court on which we compete.

My own life now is in its fourth quarter, and time is running down. But a jump shot from behind the arc still counts as much now as it did in the first moments of play, and I can yet have an impact on this game.

Feed me the rock! I’m feeling it.

JIM CARNETT lives in Costa Mesa. His column runs Wednesdays.