Opening day is here once again. We have survived the cold of winter and new optimism fills the air.
Baseball is in my blood so to speak. It has been passed down to me by my father http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=appleg001fra who had it passed down from his father and my kids whether they realize it or not have had it passed down from me.
As a kid I loved to play baseball. I would gather anyone and everyone in the neighborhood to play ball whether it be wiffle ball, stick ball or hard ball. It wasn't until I stopped playing organized ball after college that I realized how much I love this game. As a follower of Jesus I have also recognized that Baseball is one of the greatest metaphors for the Christian life:
1. It teaches you how to deal with failure. The most successful hitters in the game fail 7 out of 10 times. Out of the 30 Major League teams only 8 make the playoffs and only one is crowned champion.
"We all make many mistakes..." (James 3:2 NLT)
"For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again..." (Proverbs 24:16 NIV)
"Failure doesn’t mean you have blown everything. It means you have some hard lessons to learn. It doesn’t mean you are a permanent loser. It means you aren’t as smart as you thought you were. It doesn’t mean you should give up. It means you need the Lord to show you the next step. It doesn’t mean that God has abandoned you. It means that God has a better plan." Ray Pritchard
2. It is a team sport, however the team really is very dependent on individual performance. For example, if the pitcher is off there is not much the rest of the fielders can do about it. Or lets say there is two outs and your on base but the hitter at the plate does not get a hit you you cannot score.
"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ." (1 Corinthians 12:12 NIV)
"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." (Romans 12:4-5 NIV)
3. To be successful requires Spring Training.
"...discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:7-8 NASU)
4. Every team needs a good manager.
"...For apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 NLT)
"For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need." (Phillipians 4:13 NLT)
5. Opening day means a fresh start for every team. (Great news for Cubs fans!)
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
"He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" (Revelation 21:5 NIV)
"For I am about to do a brand-new thing. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness for my people to come home. I will create rivers for them in the desert!" (Isaiah 43:19 NLT)
PASTORAL PROGNOSTICATION
