Well...er...The Reason You See Is....

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:23-25

Everyone I know realizes I am a major baseball fan. This is my season! I had two "stupid human tricks" as a child growing up. First, I could never ever make, model and year of every car from 1947 (I was born in 1952) until 1976 on the road. The other was I could remember the most minute details about ballplayers and the game itself. I loved it! I didn't see it as trivia because I loved it so much. To me it was cool and fun and I suppose it was also important. How good was I? Even my friends, who had teams that they loved more than I did and had heroes that were not my heroes knew less about their favorite players and teams than I did. I hated the Yankees but my Yankee loving fiends marveled that I knew more about Mantle, Maris, Ford, Berra, Richardson, Kubek and all the lesser known Yankees than they knew. You may be that kind of person or have friends and family like that. Well, I still am a bonifide member of this group of trivia containers.

Fans have other traits as well don't they? They have an indomitable sense of commitment, loyalty or determination - okay, okay, maybe "addiction" is a better word! Against incredible odds, sound logic, and even medical advice, sports fans will persevere to the dying end! Difficulties are viewed as a challenge ... never an excuse to stay away or miss a chance to support our teams!

I've often wondered what would happen if people were as intense and committed and determined about their love of Christ Jesus and the Body He died for as they are about sports or any other hobby. This topic was covered some years back in a Moody Monthly piece that illustrated twelve excuses a fella might use for "quitting sports." The analogy isn't hard to figure out.

1. Every time I went, they asked me for money.

2. The people with whom I had to sit didn't seem very friendly.

3. The seats were too hard and not comfortable.

4. The coach never came to call on me.

5. The referee made a decision with which I could not agree.

6. I was sitting with some hypocrites---they came only to see what others were wearing.

7. Some games went into overtime, and I was late getting home.

8. The organist played music that I had never heard before.

9. The games are scheduled when I want to do other things.

10. My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up. (Hmm...I'll have to ask my boys)

11. Since I read a book on sports, I feel that I know more than the coaches anyhow.

12. I don't want to take my kids, because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.

I've come up with a few more:

13. The parking lot (steps, walkways, etc.) was awful . . . I had to walk 300 yards to the stadium entrance.

14. Nobody came up and introduced themselves to me; it was so impersonal!

15. The public address and lighting systems don't suit me.

16. It's always too hot (or cold) in the stadium.

17. It's so loud there!

Enough said. Think it over.

What would happen if we approached our responsibilities to the Body of Christ with the same enthusiasm we give to our hobbies, sports, and other extracurricular activities?