Came across this story of Jason Ray, a former mascot of the NC Tar Heels. Since they beat the Fighting Illini in the NCAA championship a few years back, I’ve had a distaste for all things Carolina Blue, except Michael Jordan, of course. 
But it is an absolute privilege for me to blog about Jason Ray. Most of you sports lovers probably saw a special segment on Mr. Ray on TV recently. I think they’ve been running it pretty consistently during March Madness, and they should, because it is a great story of hope and love. (Make sure to watch the videos.)
The articles I’ve read paints a picture of a very gregarious individual. Jason Ray belonged to a rock band, got the mascot job on the spot, he cared deeply for people, led a Bible Study for Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship, and just lived life to the fullest. A passionate person to say the least. In tragic irony, on the day before an NCAA Tournament game, getting ready to do what he loved, Ray was hit by a car from behind while walking on a highway shoulder near his Fort Lee hotel after going to a nearby convenience store. A day of happy anticipation turned into a night of gray solemnity.
The more I read the feature articles, the more I was impressed, and the more I could see why everyone was making a big deal out of this kid’s story. Here are some excerpts describing his more sensitive side:
Behind Jason’s wit and cleverness was a heart. Emmitt and Charlotte were touched when their son came home from mission trips to Haiti and Honduras with tears in his eyes, unable to shake the images of starving, sick children from his head.
They were amazed when a high school girlfriend cheated on Jason with one of his friends and he responded not in anger but in prayer, writing in a journal that his parents would later find: “Thanks for teaching me patience and forgiveness … I pray for them now. I pray you would speak to them and they would see the light and love that only comes from you.”
And they smiled when he carried a Bible with him to his senior prom, knowing he still had to prepare for a sermon he had been asked to give the next morning. Jason, they like to tell people now, “got the message.” At 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, with that gregarious, in-your-face, who-in-the-world-is-that-guy personality, he loved people, connecting with them through laughter, tears or stimulating conversation.
At North Carolina, he began every morning the same way: by crawling out of bed about 8 a.m. to meet two of his roommates for prayer. “And he hated mornings,” says Chad Hines, one of the roommates. “So as soon as we were finished, he’d head right back to bed.”
Unbeknownst to his parents, Jason led a Friday morning Bible study for older men. On Tuesday nights, he was a student leader for InterVarsity, a campus ministry.
One of his most important decisions while he was alive was to be an organ donor. When his mother debated in concerned opposition after seeing the little heart icon on his driver’s license (indicating he would be a donor), Jason responded, “Mom, you’re crazy. If something happens to me and I have a heart that could help save someone’s life, then what good does it do to bury that heart in the ground? That doesn’t make any sense at all.” It was a lifesaving decision for it saved families the grief of losing their fathers, husbands, and children. Here are some faces of those touched by Jason’s sacrifice.
Some final thoughts:
- We’ve got to make the most of our lives. I am reminded of a song by Jaci Valesquez called “Thief of Always.” Part of the chorus goes: “You’ve got to live every moment/ As though it was your last/ Before the thief of always/ Steals tomorrow from your grasp/ Before the chance to know His love/ Has somehow passed you by/ Let your heart reach out/ Right here, right now/ For the Lord to touch your life” I listened to this song over and over again when a friend of mine passed away in a car accident at the tender age of 25. Help me Lord, to live every moment as if it was my last. I want to live a life that matters.
- We have to care about people. Jason clearly cared. Whether it be helping an underclassmen carry stuff or crying at the suffering he saw on a short term mission trip, he clearly cared. In an increasingly sardonic culture, love is in great shortage. Do I care enough to be inconvenienced? Am I rubbing shoulders with people? Do I think about how I can benefit others? Help me Lord not to bury my heart in the ground.
- Jesus cares about people. From the streetwalker to the churchgoer, he cares about our ailing hearts that infected with sin. That’s why Jesus had to become the ultimate organ donor. Because he died, I (we) have a new heart. That’s why the fundamental transformation that occurs when we meet Christ is not “bad to good” but “death to life.” Thank you God that we are alive in Christ!
