Skip to main content

Touching Home


    My best friend growing up was a baseball player through and through.  I’ll never forget the story for his first “real” home run.  He had been playing high school ball for a year or two and was a good hitter but had never hit one over the fence.  Until that one day when he turned just right on a fast ball and sent it out of the park.  As he round the bases, you could see his smile on his face from the stands.  When he turned past third, his teammates pilled out of the dugout to meet him with a chorus of high fives and pats on the pack.  The jubilation continued until he stepped back in the dugout and was promptly called out.  You see in in all the congratulations and excitement he never stepped on home plate.  So when he left the playing field, he put himself out; the only person on the field that could do so.
    I’m sure Josh hates that story, but I bring it up a reminder of very important spiritual point.  When we put Christ on in baptism is a lot like hitting a home run over the fence.  The deed is done, we know what will happen. In baseball the run will be scored, in life, we have a place in heaven.  No one else can put you out; no one else can keep you from taking that prize.  No matter how slow we run or even if we trip and fall down, we still can get up and keep moving toward home.  No one is going to be able to put take us out of play except us.  If we don’t touch home, we don’t get the reward!  As a Christian, we must know that after our salvation we have to keep moving to the goal of heaven.  If we stop running, or leave the path, and don’t finish, we will cause ourselves to be out.  Jesus said “but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved”(Matthew 10:22  ). Revelation 2:10 tells us 'Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.  Our home is there ready for us we just have to make sure we finish the task!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Gift You Give Yourself

    I always hated buying gifts for my Mom. If I got her something like a new set of pans, it was like saying “Here’s something you can use to go make me something to eat”. A gift for her was seemingly a gift for me.   There are however gifts you give that benefit you more than the receiver. For example, forgiveness. When you give it, you are giving it to yourself as much as you are giving it to them. Jesus said that when we forgive others it means God is forgiving us our wrongs (Matthew 6:14-15).  I once read: “ Heaven is where everyone's forgiven. Hell is where nobody's forgiven.  So, when we forgive we pull heaven down into our lives.  When we withhold forgiveness, we pull hell up into our lives ” Give yourself something nice today, Forgive.
Post a Comment
Read more

Desire

  Is it wrong to want something? I guess it depends on what we want.   The Greek language had a word ‘ orego ’ that meant “to stretch oneself out in order to touch or grasp something, often used metaphorically to denote a strong desire or aspiration for something”. Paul uses this word in 1st Timothy as a good thing (to be an elder 3:1) and a bad thing (longing for money 6:10).   Our desires oftentimes define who we are. They motivate us to action. They are the focus of our minds and actions.  And they can be both good and bad.  Sometimes we want something better and we run over people to get it. Sometimes, we want something better so we will strive to improve ourselves.  Sometimes we see people with nothing they want and we envy them. Other people will see with no desire and we pity them.  We need to desire good things. Be willing to work to get them. Care enough to try.  We need to not desire bad things. Be willing to forgo o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Until Midnight

    In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back.       I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul.   Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...
Post a Comment
Read more