baseball

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately Not too much but this more than I had been able to do before. It’s tough to make time to sit down and reflect these days. I’m still in the midst of the ever-busy job search, wedding planning, and getting Nelson to stop calling me about his car.

But I had a thought about what it means to be a Christian. What does it take. I guess Donald Miller would tell us it is all about relationship and my fiancé’s church’s bulletin has a great 5 step program to find him. But what is a simple or even complex way of understanding and communicating the depth and lines of Christian vs. Non-Christian?

My mind sort of wandered to the game of baseball. Not because I like the sport or even illegal steroids, but because it’s a simple game that every man woman, and child can relate to in one way or another. That should be the way Christianity is looked at. Its not a different language like cricket or monopoly but simple and beautiful.

Baseball is also full of all kinds of different, yet true followers. You got old men who talk about the old days and swear that their grandsons are gonna go pro some day. You see the face painted, beer bonged, twenty-somethings who seem to always have the seats right where the foul balls land. There are the innocent kids who bring their gloves to every game no matter where they’re sitting and even the couples who bring a sense of newness or disgust to those around them.

You got all kinds of people that love every bit of the game.

So…what does it take to be considered a true baseball lover? You need a glove? Maybe. But that’s obviously not all.
You need to be on a team? No. it helps though.
Be good at it. Nope. Go to a lot of games? Nah.
Be able to hit home runs? Catch fly balls? Or chew tobacco? No.

I thought about this for awhile. There are plenty of ways to be a true baseball fan or player without any of those things listed above. So what does it take?

Here’s what I came up with. If a true baseball lover was forced to transfer to a new High School and that High school did not have a baseball team…he/she would start one. They would teach people how to play and together make it happen. An older fan would not let his kids grow up without knowing how great the game is and how much it has meant to him/her. These people would have passion. They’re love for the game would make them not want to live without it. Not want its flame to extinguish. Not want people important to them to go through life without the chance of knowing about it.

Is this semi cheesy trying to compare it to what it takes to be a Christian? I believe God is calling his people to devote themselves to him and to love him enough to be proud of him in dark places.

God wants me to miss and yearn for him when I haven’t been around in awhile. He desires a pure and holy passion. A real passion.


I'm done writing now...

Jared Bell