“And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased. ” (Matthew 3:17)
I have a twelve-year-old son who loves baseball more than he loves to eat. To me, he’s one of the finest baseball players for his age that I’ve ever seen. But then again, no parent can be objective when it comes to talking about his own child. You know what I mean?
This summer, Mark made the all-star team and we had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta to compete against other all-star teams from the north Georgia area. He learned more about baseball and I learned a little more about my relationship with Christ.
Every time he stepped up to the plate, I was in the batter’s box with him. And when he hit the ball, I found myself running down the baseline too, trying to beat the throw to first base. You see my prime has passed me, as far as baseball is concerned, so now I play the game of baseball through my son. It’s called living vicariously.
Jesus lives through his children in much the same way that I live through Mark when he plays baseball. When we made the decision to accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we also agreed to allow his spirit to dwell within us and guide our lives. In other words, the accomplishments that Christ registers in this world are going to depend on how well we play the game!
So as Christians, we, too, are members of a team, except our team is called the Body of Christ. That’s why the Apostle Paul says, “So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ” (Romans 12:5)
Just like Mark’s all-star team, God positions us based upon the particular talents that we have. The Bible calls those talents gifts and God expects us to use those gifts to win others to Christ, even when we don’t believe we can hit the pitch. “On the contrary, those parts of the body that to be weaker are indispensable.” (I Corinthians 12:22)
I’ll tell you something else that I’ve learned. My relationship with Mark has also taught me an important lesson about God’s forgiveness. You see there have been times when he has tested my patience as a parent. In fact, I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but there have been nights when I couldn’t wait for his bedtime to arrive.
Any parent understands what I’m talking about. Sometimes the day just wears long, and for whatever reason, Mark and I don’t get along very well. He isn’t a very good child and I’m not a very good parent. Yet, just when I thought I had it up to here with him, he looks up to me from his pillow and says, “I’m sorry, Dad”.
Believe it or not, God has those kinds of days with us. But when we took up and say, “Forgive me, Father,” His forgiveness for us, in whatever way that we may we have failed Him, is as spontaneous and complete as my forgiveness for Mark when he apologizes for failing to meet my expectations.
We love our children in spite of their flaws. We see the good in them and know that their lives have promise even when they fail. God loves us the same way. “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)
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