Living In The Outfield

W

hen I was a little boy, summer was my favorite time of year.  School was out, so no more books, it was hot outside, so we went barefoot all the time, and my best friend lived right next door, so we spent all our waking moments together.  Yep, summertime was the best time there was.  No cares, no worries, and all the time in the world to do whatever I wanted.  I didn’t realize how good I had it until I grew up!

Summertime also meant baseball and every kid in town tried out for one of the little league teams or one of several other minor teams sponsored by one of the local charities or civic organizations.  Every summer, I played ball and every summer I had the same position, left field! 

Playing the outfield on a small team in a small town isn’t very exciting.  Most of the hits never made it past the brown swatch of dirt separating the infield from the outfield. I watched as the pitcher delivered the ball which was either swung at and missed, or popped up, or tapped foul.  Occasionally, one guy would hit the ball hard enough so that it wondered into the outfield and for a few seconds there was a bevy of activity and then everything grew quiet once again.

I remember feeling that I had somehow been treated unfairly by being relegated to the outfield.  All I could do, it seemed, was watch the game go by with all the excitement happening on the infield, as the ball was thrown, hit, scooped, tossed, and thrown to the pitcher, the catcher, the shortstop, and to the guys playing the bases.  I felt like an outcast, being a part of the team but always seeing the game from the fringes.

Now believe me, it wasn’t at all as bad as it may sound.  I enjoyed my time and I played for several years.  But let’s face it, if you’re going to play baseball, you want to be in the game, to touch the ball, and to be apart of the action.  But in time, I grew to understand that playing in the outfield was a very important part of the game.  That as we grow older, the ball ventures further and further into the outfield and the ability to keep the ball in play becomes more and more the responsibility of the outfielder.

Would it surprise you to learn that the concept of playing the outfield can be found in your Bible?  It shouldn’t!  One of the most important events in all history happened in the outfield and if you’ll open your Bible to Luke 2:8, you can read all about it for yourself.

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.”  Each year as we approach Christmas, these words are repeated over and over.  Luke gives us a wonderful description of the announcement of Jesus’ birth as received by the shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem.  But there are a few things we need to consider as we discuss this miraculous event.

First, please notice that the shepherds were professional outfielders.  The passage tells us that they lived in the fields and made their homes there.  While the hustle and bustle and the excitement of every-day life occurred in the streets of Bethlehem and other towns, these men were relegated to the outfield where seemingly nothing was happening.  They were on the fringes, literally, of the city but also of society.

Shepherds were considered one of the lowest rungs of society.  They weren’t trusted, they weren’t welcomed, they didn’t enjoy any social standing, and no one was filling out multiple job applications for shepherding positions.  It was a lonely existence and one which was neither appreciated nor coveted by society.

And yet, these are the men to whom God fist announced the birth of the Messiah!  For while shepherds weren’t the types of people growing businesses sought, they were the very kind of people ready to receive God’s message and His gift.  Shepherds were loyal, humble, patient, gentle, and would give all they had to protect and defend their flocks.  Their one thought was for their sheep, not for themselves, and they understood what it meant to live a life set apart from the rest of the world.

It is no wonder, then that God chose them to first hear the good news.  Throughout his ministry, Jesus preached that the last would be first.  Perhaps no where else in Scripture do we see this principle than at his birth when the last of society were the first to hear and share the good news.

I want you to take heart from this passage today.  Your place in God’s plan may feel like the outfield.  It may seem to you that others are experiencing great growth, multiple blessings, and great spiritual activity.  You might feel you are on the fringes just waiting for your opportunity to “get into the game.”  Just remember this:  there are no unimportant positions on God’s team.  Those who play the outfield are as important as those closer to the action.  God knows where you are and He is using you, even when it seems He is not.  Are you faithfully living in the outfield today?