BY JACK WARD

Baseball season is just around the corner. I love baseball. Baseball is all about getting players to arrive safe at home. Let me use a baseball analogy here. If I am a baseball player, I trust in my manager. I know the rules of the game: to get to first, I must hit the ball beyond the reach of the fielders.

But I still have a long way to go to get home. In the meantime, I must always be ready to run. It is hard to know when to run and when to play it safe. I may stumble and fall. I may make an out and hurt my team. The other team wants to get me out and will throw over and try to pick me off. I must dive back and barely make it each time. Being on base is very stressful. There are nine players on the other team who hate me being on base and will do everything they can to get me out. Each base I advance to increases the pressure more each time. The other team does everything they can to trick, deceive and get me out.

I keep advancing around the bases because I have base coaches guiding me and warning me not to stray too far off the base. And each coach is also guarding me and tells me when to get back to the base and how far to run when the ball is hit. But I cannot get home unless someone gets on my team and gets a hit. Finally, our star player comes to bat and hits a single that gets me home, and I celebrate with my teammates.

This is like the Christian life. God is the team manager. God runs the game. The bases are this earthly Christian life and home plate is heaven.

The only way to get on base in God’s game is by faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is our base coach, guards us, and keeps us from getting thrown out on the bases. It is not easy for the Holy Spirit because we are all terrible base runners. We all do stupid things. But the Spirit’s only job is to keep us smart, alert and in the game so that we can get home. He has never lost a base runner.

But how are we going to get home? God does something unexpected. Jesus Christ is coming to the plate. He is going to pinch-hit. Jesus Christ never fails. He never makes an out. He never lets us down. As soon as we got on base it was assured we would get home, not because of our skill, intelligence, speed or athleticism, but because 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ hit a home run, knocked the devil out of the box, and guaranteed all who trust in Him will get to heaven. Now everyone who gets on base will get home. Christ died and rose from the dead. He has already won eternal life for those who trust in Him alone.

You know the best part: Jesus is the first one to greet us when we get home. What a celebration that will be.

Listen to Pastor Jack’s sermons every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on 98.9 WSIP FM. Check out the Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church Facebook page and our website at tomahawkmbc.com.