Purpose

Expecting a Hit

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. –2 Peter 3:9

I’ve heard that one of the most difficult things to do in professional sports is to hit a baseball. The hand-eye coordination that is required to hit a ball that is speeding towards you is beyond what other sports ask of the human body. Sure, you may run more and be hit more in other sports, but purely from a getting all the synapses to fire in the right way so that your brain communicates quickly enough to your hands what your eyes are seeing, standing at home plate is a challenging place to be. Add on top of that that everyone else’s eyes are watching you to see how you will perform, it’s quite the pressure cooker.

It’s easy to feel the same way about sharing our faith.

We wonder if we’ll be able to recall just the right Scripture verse in order to answer the person’s question.

We ponder whether our mental acuity will be up to the rigorous questioning.

We’re fearful about what people who are watching us will think when we “strike out.”

So it’s tempting to want to call a time-out and to walk away from the plate.

But we need not feel this way.

After all, as Scripture tells us  and my pastor often reminds us the reason Jesus hasn’t returned is because there are still some who need to be saved.  So just as the baseball player must approach the plate fully expecting to accomplish what their coach wants, so when we share the Gospel we should do so expecting that it will be received. After all, God has promised that there are still some people out there who will receive it, and He has given us the privilege of being a part of bringing that work to fruition.

If a baseball player approached home plate concentrating on all the things that could go wrong, they likely wouldn’t be a very good batter. Instead, they must rely on their training and their God-given abilities, concentrating on what they know they should do, rather than the challenges inherent in doing so. They must walk to the plate expecting a hit. And so should we.

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Growth

Be Available

When I was little, my grandparents called me “Lucy” – as in the Lucy from Charlie Brown.  It’s a long story how I got that name, but it stuck. At some point I even had a picture hanging on my door of my namesake behind her famous makeshift desk with a sign that would read “The Doctor is In” or “The Doctor is Out” depending on her presence and her temperament. It was a sign that indicated her willingness to listen to her “client’s” concerns.

Several months ago, I was rushing to my car to get to the next thing on “my” agenda, and I ran into a former student. As I quickly said my “hello”, I tried to speed the conversation along so that I could could get to where I needed to go. I still remember the pain of conviction I felt afterwards when I realized that I hadn’t really listened to or inquired about how my student was doing; I was so focused on what I had going on, that I hadn’t made myself available to her.

It’s a common predicament in a chaotic world. We have so much going on that it’s hard to stop and see anything besides our next appointment. However, as a book that I’m reading reminded me, it’s important to start each day making ourselves available to God. When someone wants to schedule a meeting with me, the first thing I do is look at my calendar and see what time isn’t already committed. However,  all my time needs to be committed to Him. So if the schedule must change, or I must be delayed in order to accomplish what He wants, then I must be willing to do that. To God, my calendar must always read “available.”

In Charlie Brown, Lucy would sometimes impulsively flip her “in” sign over so that she didn’t have to deal with a feckless patient.  It’s a natural response that we all feel when we don’t want to deal with yet another person’s “stuff.” Too often I find myself asking God to use me, and then wanting to respond as Lucy did when He actually does. Instead, may I start my day telling Him that I’m “in” and than eagerly anticipate the people He’s going to bring for me to minister to.  May I be available to Him, and in so doing, be available to those He loves.

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