Confessions of a Learning Baseball Lover...

Well folks it's that time again! 3:30 in the morning to be exact. It's official, I'm changing my name to "The Late Night Blogger." Why these moments of inspiration cannot come at a normal hour of night I will never be able to fathom. But I Digress. Here's something thats been surprising me lately. I'm becoming a bit of a baseball fan. This shocks me. Being a lover of the action packed hockey I've never given much thought to baseball. I always thought, if I may be completely honest, that I'd be bored to tears watching it. But no cable TV changes a person. I've now watched many a game in attempt to procrastinate. And I've officially played my first game of softball. If you want proof I'll show you the bruise. But I've realized it requires a lot more skill than just hand eye coordination.

I've spent many a minute google-ing certain baseballean terms or poking whoever happens to be sitting next to me and asking questions like "So what does RBI mean?" Runs batted in- got it now. Yep, I'm becoming an expert. But I've thoroughly enjoyed the process of learning. Still a little confused on the whole average decimals business so if any of you would like to clarify that would be much appreciated. 

But asides from baseball, there's been something else I find myself learning a few lessons on- God's mercy and forgiveness. Because like baseball, God's got rules. Someone I know once called Him the ultimate umpire. I understand that phrase now. But unlike baseball, God doesn't play by strikes. There's no three strikes your out. And thank goodness for that or I would've been out come the age of one. Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us His compassions are new every morning. 

I'm human. So as such, it should be no surprise that I've royally blown it. But I'm learning I don't have to feel shame over what I've done. And that is so freeing! I feel conviction, but once I confess it, there is no guilt there. And this sinner finds hope. Because no matter how many times I blow it in the future God's loving sacrifice on the cross will overwrite it-mind you this should not be an excuse to do so. And it's not by some error of His. It's not a missed call or a ball he didn't catch and should have. God doesn't make mistakes. It was on purpose. He's eager to redeem us. And I'm still trying to grasp that concept. It seems backwards to me that a perfect God would be so eager to redeem an imperfect people- many of whom aren't looking for redemption. There's been many a friend and many a mentor I've poked and said, "So what does that mean?"

Here's one of the other reasons I'm growing a soft spot for the game. Even if the player strikes out, they always come up to bat again. It's a bit redeeming when you think about it. But unlike baseball, we are not batting alone. Lefty, righty, switch-hand makes no difference. God comes along and says, "Okay, you struck out. That's a black spot on your record certainly. Don't worry, I've wiped the slate clean. I'm not done with you yet. Swing again." Home. Run. 

"You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross." -Colossians 2:13-15 (NLT)