Competing in a spelling bee normally places the attention on the person doing the spelling, but this year’s National Spelling Bee that aired on ESPN Thursday brought the attention to Christianity.
The winning word in this year’s competition has Christian meaning. The word, “Koinonia” was the winning word (I’ll come back to this in a minute, so keep reading for additional context).
Karthik Nemmani, 14, from McKinney, Texas (YAY), was presented with the Scripps National Spelling Bee trophy after correctly spelling “koinonia,” a word in which many viewers say they had never heard of before.
Karthik was in a fierce battle against a fellow Texan, 12-year-old Naysa Modi of Frisco, Texas (YAY again). They were the final two. She misspelled “bewusstseinslage.
When it was Karthik’s turn at the microphone, the announcer gave him the word, “koinonia,” an intimate spiritual or Christian communion. He asked for the definition, smiled, then spelled it correctly.
Karthik, the son of an immigrant from India, was one of more than 500 spellers to compete this year, the largest number of participants ever.
So here it is, the largest spelling bee EVER being broadcast on prime-time live on ESPN at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., with the world watching, the winning word sheds light on Jesus and Christianity.
With everything going on in the world today, including the May 18 Santa Fe school shooting here in Texas, I believe that God, through His providence, allowed the center stage to be again brought back to Texas (with the final two spelling bee participants being from Texas), and “pointed us back to Him with the final word” – That’s enough to shout about right there!
Here’s what I mean: Regardless of what you’re going through, God has the final word!
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the spelling bee’s final word or the winning word “koinonia” best. It defines it as being, “the Christian fellowship or body of believers. The intimate spiritual communion and participative sharing in a common religious commitment and spiritual community.”
Used in a sentence, the Merriam-Webster dictionary says, “the koinonia of the disciples with each other and with their Lord.”
Their Lord, of course, is Jesus Christ. Look at God!
This year’s National Spelling Bee is a fine example to use all that when we place our faith in Him; when he shows up, He not only has the final word, but we also WIN!