“Home” run

April 27, 2007

By Greg Ebie

How hard can it be to hit a ball with a “stick?” I stepped into a batting cage last summer to see if I still had what it takes to hit the ball. The sign said, “Fast pitch, 50 mph.” I figured that shouldn’t be too hard to start out with (after all, they’re hitting 80- to 90-mph-plus fastballs in the pros). I completely missed the first few pitches and then foul tipped a couple.

I finally got enough bat on the ball to pop one up. After a few more attempts I finally hit one that would’ve had a chance of being a hit in a game. I was pleased with my effort, but I gained a whole new appreciation for the guys who get paid to hit the ball. It’s not as easy as it looks.

John the Baptist had a great following of people, but now that Jesus had started His ministry more people were going to Jesus instead. Some of John’s disciples had a hard time with this. John’s answer showed he understood his place in God’s plan.

“The One who comes from above is head and shoulders over other messengers from God. The earthborn is earthbound and speaks earth language; the heavenborn is in a league of his own” (John 3:31, The Message).

John knew he was just a man and lived with human limitations; he also knew Jesus did not have limitations. Jesus was the “God-man” who had come down from heaven. As God, Jesus was without beginning or end; He was eternal. Yet Jesus stepped into time as a man to communicate God’s love in a way only He could.

Yet here is the good news. Jesus didn’t just come to earth to show us how incapable we are compared to Him; He was not here to show off. Instead, Jesus came to extend His hand to us and lift us out of our sin. Jesus wants to set us free from our human limitations that only lead to death so we might really live in Him.

Some people have the mistaken belief they can make it on their own, that they don’t need God or Jesus to help them. They step up to the plate and take their swings; they may even get some hits. But when it is all said and done, the devil throws a fastball of death that strikes them out and they lose the game of life.

Jesus is the only One who hit that one out of the park; He beat the devil once and for all. Jesus wants to help us win the game of life too. With Jesus, we can do more than just live; we can live forever. You can try to do it yourself only to strike out, or take His hand and hit a “home” run.

D. Greg Ebie is senior pastor of Praise Assembly of God in Garrettsville, Ohio, and an author of Daily Bread devotionals.