God At The Ballpark

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 ballpark is not exactly the place where you would expect to learn a good Sunday school lesson.  Amid all the noise, the chaos, the flashing lights, and the booming announcements, finding a moment for solitude and reflection simply isn’t in the cards.  Yet, one Saturday evening, during all of this raucous confusion, I saw one of the best examples of a biblical principal played out by a young father and his 5-year-old son.

We were sitting in the nose-bleed sections, almost high enough to touch the undersides of the airplanes as they prepared for landing at the airport. The view was great, the breeze was even better, and the fact that we didn’t’ have to climb over a bunch of folks to get to our seats indicated this would be a most promising evening.  The fact that we won the game 10 to 1 was also another check in the plus column.

Not long after my friend and I settled in, we were joined by a young father and his small son.  The father had a playbook with him and proceeded to make all the necessary entries as the names of the players were called.  Now playbooks are beyond my comprehension, but I am always fascinated by the acute care avid fans take in recording every minute detail of the game.

As the game progressed, the father explained everything to his son.  The little boy was full of questions, as the father of any 5 year-old will tell you, and the young man patiently and carefully answered them all.  He told his son about hits, runs, errors, strikeouts, bunts, double plays, etc.  He made sure his son saw him mark everything in the playbook and explained to him why each mark was important.

As I sat there watching the game but listening to this father, the words from Deuteronomy 6:4-7 came to mind, “4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

These words from the Lord are an admonition and a command to the Children of Israel to spend time instructing their children in the ways of the Lord.  Our first teachers are our parents.  From them we learn all the important lessons of life, all the things necessary to grow and become responsible adults.  But God’s words go beyond that.  We are to teach our children about God and we are to do that all the time.  Notice that this is to be done when we are sitting, walking, lying down, and getting up.  In other words we are to do this 24/7.

That Saturday evening at the ballpark, that little boy learned a far greater lesson than completing a playbook. He learned the importance of his father’s presence.  He learned the importance of spending “alone time” with dad.  And he learned that during those precious moments he was the most important thing to his father.

Isn’t it interesting that these are the very lessons God wants us to learn about Him.  Are we learning them?  Are we spending alone time with Him, drinking in everything He teaches us?  If not, how can we expect to teach these things to others?  We can only teach what we know.  How much do you know about God today?  What lesson are you teaching today?

On Your Way Home

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ummertime was the most wonderful time of the year for me as a kid because summertime meant three very important things:  school was out, I could go barefoot, and I could ride my bike anytime and anywhere (well, almost anywhere) I wanted.  I would wake up in the morning and have the whole day ahead of me.  The waking hours were filled with all kinds of possibilities of things to do, places to go, and people to see.  Sounds like I was some big-time explorer with some big-time plans for making a grand discovery, doesn’t it?  Well to me, it felt pretty much like that.

One of my favorite things to do was to ride my bike.  All the kids in our neighborhood had bikes and we rode them all the time.  Most of the time, we would ride in the neighborhood, not too far from our homes.  But we also broadened our horizons, widening the boundaries of our jaunts, venturing across town to the park, or to get ice cream at one of the small convenience stores that dotted our town.

But I also enjoyed the rides I took by myself.  I enjoyed these the most because I usually ended up at the same location, grandma and grandpa’s house.  They lived only a mile away but we always described it as “clear across town,” and sometimes it seemed that their home was the furthermost outpost in the city.

Whenever I arrived, both my grandparents were always glad to see me and anything in the cabinets, the refrigerator, or under grandpa’s chair was game.  Grandpa’s chair was where the most precious of all treasures, Snickers candy bars, was hidden.  Those candy bars were always a special treat because grandpa loved them so much and he always handed me one (or two) when I went over to visit.  But the cookies, the cakes, the ice cream, and anything else were always sampled as well.

Usually, my mom would call me at grandma’s to see what time I was leaving for home.  She usually had something she wanted me to pick up on my way home from one of the local grocery stores.  She always said the same thing, “On your way home….”  Sometimes it was a loaf of bread, a pack of cheese, some sugar, or something to drink.  At other times there were several items but always there was something for me to pick up on my way home.

Jesus left the following instructions for his disciples and for all those who would become believers in him because of their testimony and witness.  In Matthew 28:19 we read these words, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” This passage of scripture is usually referred to as The Great Commission because Jesus gave his followers a big assignment.  They were told to make disciples everywhere they went and to share the truth of God’s word with all those around them.

I like to think of this passage in light of my mother’s phone conversations with me while I visited with my grandparents.  I believe Jesus wanted us to understand that on our way home, we are to pick up as many people as we can and bring them with us.  Now, what we have to understand is that we are on our way home every waking moment of our lives.  As long as we are taking in air, as long as our hearts are beating, and as long as we remain here, we are on our way home.  That means we must constantly be about the task of picking up people and telling them about Jesus and his love for us.

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s I grew older, I exchanged my bike for a car. However, whenever I visited my grandparents, mom still called and still told to me pick up things on my way home.  Since I had a car, however, I could pick up more things and carry more responsibility.  I believe it is the same with us as we mature in Christ.  We move from a spiritual bike to a spiritual car, being able to pick up more, to carry more, and to deliver more as we mature and grow in our walk with God.  Even today, one thousand miles away from 511 South Elm Street where my grandparents used to live, I still make myself a mental note to pick up certain items on my way home.  What are you picking up on your way home today?

Ignorance Is No Excuse!

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veryone in town was talking about it. It was the topic of every conversation from the local diner, to the barbershop, to the hair salon, even to the funeral home.  Everyone had an opinion and the phone lines at City Hall proved it.  The employees couldn’t do their jobs for answering questions, listening to citizens’ complaints, writing down their suggestions, and passing them on to the appropriate department. 

The source of this entire hullabaloo was the new stoplight installed at Main and Depot Streets.  For years, there had only been two stoplights on Main Street.  Once you passed through downtown, there was nothing to hinder your progress.  In fact, if you were driving east, you didn’t stop until you reached the next town, about 15 miles away.  But this new stoplight would change all that.  No sooner would you get under way when you would have to stop at another intersection.  Change comes hard in a small town.

The interesting thing was that no one seemed to complain while the stoplight was being installed.  The workers took several days to install the metal pole that would hold the stoplight.  After erecting the pole, they installed the light and covered it with black plastic.  It stayed this way for several weeks so people could grow accustomed to the new presence of the traffic light.  After a few weeks, they turned the light on.

That‘s when all the problems at City Hall started and all the conversations began.  People were driving through that intersection without stopping and the police department was busy warning motorists and handing out citations.  Although the citizens of our town didn’t care for the new stoplight, they couldn’t deny its existence nor make and an excuse for ignoring it.  The signs of that new stoplight had been evident for months and ignorance was no excuse.

The Apostle Paul made this point abundantly clear in his letter to the believers in Rome.  He wanted them to understand that God has made Himself evident to man in many ways.  Paul clearly states that signs pointing to God are everywhere and that we have no excuse—ignorance  included—of not knowing about the creator and the sustainer of life.

Romans 1:20 stands as Paul’s testimony to this fact, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

Look carefully at what Paul is saying. Just like the covered stoplight hanging over the intersection, God has placed evidence all around us demonstrating His power, His mercy, His grace, and His sovereignty.  We have no excuse for not knowing about God and for not accepting His gift of salvation.  Ignoring the stoplight doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist; the same is true with God.

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fter several weeks, the people of my town adjusted to the new stoplight.  They recognized, understood, and complied with the law. The conversations and the complaints, as well as suggestions for improvements, finally subsided.  Occasionally, someone still runs through that stoplight and when they tell the officer they didn’t know it was there, they simply hear, “Ignorance is no excuse.”  What excuse are you using today?