Home-Run

“Don’t play ball in the house!” said every American mom.

Other children may not have obeyed it, but in my mom’s house, we sure did.

But a few Christmas Eves ago, my great-nephew, Micah, wanted to play baseball, America’s pastime, in the house…and I let him.  And I’m glad that I did.  (Sorry, not sorry, mom!) 

Micah, who’d enjoyed Atlanta Braves baseball from the stands of Turner Field and SunTrust Park, wanted to play right there amongst the sofa-stands of our home.

And I was going to let him.

He got the bat and ball.  Plastic, of course. 

I looked nervously at the 20-or-so heads that could potentially roll, that could be taken out by a line drive right down the middle of the living room.

Micah set up the T-stand.

I looked precariously at the nearly new TV—on its own stand—potentially shattered by a foul ball to the right side.

And I was still going to let him.

As Micah was gathering his equipment, I told him about the men that had gone before him, about the Pressley men that had loved the sport before he was ever born: his father, his grandfather, his great-grandfathers.   Intending to give him some connection to his family history, heritage and identity, I encouraged, “Micah, baseball is in your blood.”   

Pressleys.  From Chief Noc-a-Homa to the tomahawk chop.  We do baseball.  And Micah could, and would, do baseball too. 

Micah took his stance and prepared for the pitch.  Maybe the crowd roared.  “You can do it, Micah!”  Perhaps the family cheered.  “Homerun!”  I don’t remember.  What I remember is that Micah exclaimed, “I can do it!  Baseball’s in my blood!”  What I remember is the lesson that I learned from Micah.

Confidence.  Determination.  Expectation.

Because of the belief that the ability was in his blood.

No heads rolled.  The TV didn’t shatter.  This isn’t a lesson, thankfully, about the consequences of disobedience.  It’s a lesson about birthright.

The name that I carry… the bloodline that I inherited… 

What if I, like Micah, believed that my ability was also in the blood?  If I believed in the blood of Jesus with that same assurance, then wouldn’t I have that same confidence, determination and expectation?  That same connection to HIS-tory, heritage and identity?

But sometimes I live as if the blood isn’t sufficient.  As if it’s deficient.  It’s a terrible admission, I know, but it’s honest. 

Maybe, if you’re honest, you do too sometimes.

I watch this fallen life throw curveballs, changeups and even sinkers.  I’m not always prepared for the pitch or positioned on truth….so I swing at the wrong pitches. 

Anger.  Strike one.

Bitterness.  Strike two.

Fear.  Strike three. 

Disappointment, impatience and doubt pop up…  Attitude fouls…

But, thankfully, God doesn’t count me out.  Or you either. 

As believers, we’re batters on a winning team.  And even though we may strike out or pop up, God isn’t a general manager who’s considering stats or calculating batting averages.  He isn’t looking to trade us to another team.     

Even when we stop short of His glory, He knows that there’s a power hitter in us.  He knows that Jesus’s blood gives us access to the Holy Spirit, who equips us with great strength and insight.  He knows that we have been given everything that pertains to life and godliness.  And He knows that Jesus’s sacrifice flies in the face of insecurity, wavering and hopelessness. 

When our perspective changes, when we see knuckleballs and sliders as opportunities for the Greater One to show Himself powerful in us, we can, with confidence, determination and expectation, run from base to base, glory to glory, faith to faith.  When we connect, when we apply the Word (bat) to the circumstance (ball), we have the promise of victory.  We score, inning after inning, season after season. As the family of God and teammates of the faith, let’s cheer each other on.  “You can do it, Sis!  Homerun!”  Let’s advance the team until we all run across the home-plate of Heaven. 

PRINCIPLE:  “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”  Hebrews 10:19-25