A Note of Encouragement

from Ciloa

 

  

 

 

 

 

Angry man shouting at a woman peacefully listening
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Proverbs 4:23

 

 
Not Our Ball Game

Volume XVI, Issue 10 

March 7, 2016 
Not Our Ball Game (The Baseball Parable)...by Susan Paradise
 
The story of a hardened heart and those who confront it...
 
There once was a boy who loved to pitch, catch, and hit baseballs with his father. When the boy grew older, his father took him to try out for a team. But as the boy learned the rules of the game, he could not believe how unfair some of them were.
 
"Why are there only three strikes and three outs? Why do players sometimes get hit by the ball? Why can the runner be called out when tagged halfway to a base? It just isn't fair!" So he told his father he did not want to play...and he never did.
 
Little boy running to third base from home plate
As the boy became a man, his aversion to the rules grew. He never went to a baseball game or even watched one on television. When people at work talked about the game the night before, he listened...even with a little longing. But his stubborn determination that the game was unfair always won out.
 
At times he tried to convince them to believe as he did. Some ignored him. Others struggled to explain why the rules were in place and what all he was missing by not embracing the sport. But a few listened to him and began to wonder, question, doubt, and judge...just as he did.
 
We Christians can be like that. We enjoy our walk with God until tragedy strikes. We cannot understand such things happening to good people and deem it all horribly unfair. We become angry with God, distancing ourselves from the Creator and His rules.
 
When others praise God and His goodness, our hearts cry out, "If He is so good, why does He allow these things to happen?" Some ignore us. Others struggle to explain. But occasionally a few listen and, as they search for answers, begin to wonder, question, doubt, and judge...just as we did.
 
When we play by our own rules, we walk away from God. We can question how He created the world, ignore His rules that govern it, even choose not to participate. But as in baseball, the game of life goes on for all who enjoy it and realize they have no right to judge what they did not create.
 
I'm not stubborn. My way is just better.
Challenging God comes with great warning, so too does challenging such doubters. We may deeply care for them and show them the Way, but only God can soften a hardened heart. Being consumed with "changing" a doubter can cause us, as well, to lose sight of Him.
 
We live in a world of doubters. Share with them. Love them. But be careful. With heart and mind unguarded, you can lose God's peace that transcends all understanding.
 
If you become frightened for them...if their doubt raises questions within you...if you find your faith slipping into fear...look to God and remember His promise:
 
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
It's not our ball game. It's His. Hallelujah!

Susan

A past member of the Ciloa Board of Directors, Susan Paradise actively ministers to hurting women. She and her husband, Fred, live in Greensboro, GA, USA.


** Original photograph by David Shankbone (David Miller).
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