The Ultimate Baseball Game?

 

The Ultimate Baseball Game?

    Throughout the years that I have been a Christian, I have used a number of different ways to try and explain what the Christian life is like.  One of the ways that I have used to describe the Christian life, is that it is like… the most important baseball game ever!  Let me describe that game for you.

    Imagine that you walk into this massive baseball stadium.  What is happening here is more important than a regular-season game, or even a playoff game, or even the World Series!  What is going on is a game that is going to determine your eternal destiny!  Whoa… I think that I got your attention now.  Though the game is about eternity, it takes place sometime while you are still on earth.  What happens in eternity in your life, is determined by what happens in this game.

   Each person must go up to bat.  Each person must face his moment at the plate.  As you wait in line, you are able to see quite a large number of people face their moment.  You see one guy who struts up to bat with extreme confidence in his ability.  He has spent a lifetime building his esteem and determination and this has fared him well in some areas of his life and he is sure that it will help him now.  As he steps up to bat, he notices something that he had not realized before.  He sees very clearly that… the devil is pitching!  As he takes those final steps, he is somewhat shaken in his assurance, but he strides up to take his turn. 

    The devil is a cheat, a scoundrel, and is not the least concerned in helping the man to do well.  He touches the grease on his brim and winds back and fires the ball down the line.  The man swings with all his might and hits a long fly ball to the outfield.  The man takes off running the bases and is able to touch first base which represents his belief system, he rounds second which is the application of his belief system to his life, and rounds third which is the propagation of his belief system to others.  He heads for home, but what he doesn’t realize is that the ball is already back in the catcher’s glove and he is easily tagged out.  His fate is sealed, he did not make it home, and he is not headed for heaven.  He is headed for the place that he has chosen in life – a place for those who have chosen self will, over the will of the Father.  His eternal place is in hell… and to see him go there shakes you to your core.

   One by one, you see one person after the other with a wide range of belief systems walk-up with varying degrees of confidence but fail in their attempt to make it home.  You wonder what is going to happen to you.

   It is now your turn.  Your confidence has been dramatically shaken as you have watched others.  You think to yourself “I cannot do this.”  You do not think that you have anything different to offer than those that have gone before you… so you decide to try a new approach!

   You decide that what you need is a pinch hitter.  You need someone to hit in your place!  You look around and you find quite a number of people that have set themselves up to be pinch hitters.  You look over and you see Mohammed.  He comes across as an extremely confident individual.  He proclaims to you “Pick me, for I am God’s last prophet!”  “I can make you worthy of Allah’s favor.”  “Trust in me.”  You look over and you also see a large group of confident, determined, convinced individuals who are asking for your trust.  You see the Dalai Lama, Buddha, Mary Baker Eddy, L. Ron Hubbard, Sun Myung Moon, Confucius, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Jim Jones, David Koresh, Many Popes and Pontiffs, and many, many more.  As you look over the row you also see Jesus Christ standing amidst the others.  Unlike them though, He is very quiet and calm, but you also see an unbelievable assurance in His eyes.  As you look His direction, He calmly whispers to you “Pick me, put your trust in me.”   “I will get you home… for I created this game.”  “I gave my life to get you home.”

   There is something about Him that tugs at your heart.  Maybe you have known of many other people who have selected Him to get them home and you saw the wonderful difference that He made in their life.  You decide to ask the Lord Jesus to stand in for you in this most desperate game.  He tells you, “I will hit for you, but I would like you to run the bases.”  You quickly agree.

    When the Lord steps up to bat, you can see the devil’s furry being stirred, but the Lord whispers to you, “Relax, I have already defeated this guy.”  The devil greases the ball, spits, winds up, and throws his hardest pitch.   Jesus swings with ease and smacks the ball with such force that it not only goes over the fence, but it goes over the field beyond the fence, and not only does it go over the field beyond the fence, but into the lake that is beyond the field, that is beyond the fence.  In any case, it is a Home Run!

    You take off to first base as you establish your belief system around Him, you round second which represents its application to your life, and you fly past third as you gladly propagate your beliefs to the world and you soon touch home!  You have made it where others have only dreamed!  You have reached the promised land, Beulah Land, the streets of gold, the heavenly city!  You have obtained something far greater than Karma, something a million times better than the 5^th Dimension of Nirvana, you have gained eternal happiness and bliss with God.  You have survived the ultimate game.

   May I ask you a minute, what is the difference between your running of the bases, and everyone else that ran?  The difference is that as you ran the bases (as you lived your life), there was NO doubt that you would make it home!  You ran with ease and peace, and assurance.  You ran like any home run hitter, who was not worried about the outfielders chasing down the ball.  You know that you would shortly be home.

  The others ran thinking that they were ok, they thought that they would be good enough; they thought that they would be fine.  They did not know that their “works” were not what God required and they would not make it home.                                                        

   God has provided our provision in His own Son.  What the Lord did on the cross provided our way of salvation.  When He was on the cross, He was pinch-hitting for us!  He was suffering in our place so that we would be accepted once we put our trust in Him.

   I wonder if you have ever entered this game.  Have you ever given thought as to whether or not you are ready to enter eternity?  What have you put your trust in?  I hope that you have come to realize that the Lord Jesus is worthy of all your trust and He can not only get you home, but He can help you live the best life you could ever live, while you are on this earth!

 

You can pray this prayer to put your trust in Him:

Lord Jesus, I believe that you died on the cross for my sins.  I am sorry for my sins and I want to change.  I open my heart and ask you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior.  Make me the kind of person you want me to be.  Thank you for saving me and giving me eternal life.

In Jesus' name, I pray.  Amen!

 

Heb_9:27  “And as it is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment.”

Rev_20:15  “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. “ 

1Corinthian 9:24  “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. “

 

Mat 7:21-23  Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

 

1Jn 5:12  He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

 

Written by Lee Malden – lmalden@hotmail.com  2020