Don’t Miss His pitch

 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:14-15 

This past weekend a group of friends and myself decided to have a fun night out and hit up a minor league baseball game. Now I am by no means a sport enthusiast but if I do sit down and watch a game, it will always be baseball. Growing up and watching my grandfather and his passion for the New York Yankees will always live with me. As we entered the stadium and began to look around for our section and seat numbers, I could see ahead down the row. I saw an older man sitting intensely watching the teams warm up, passing the ball back and forth and then we made eye contact. I could tell in his eyes he wanted to chat. Now before I go on, I must be honest, I am not what people would call a “conversationalist “. I have always been extremely shy and the thought of sitting down with a stranger sends chills into my stomach.

As we sat down I was voted by the group to sit next to him. He was very scruffy looking and gave off a very unpleasant odor, just to be kind. The moment I sat down he leaned over and asked the question “Do you want to hear some baseball trivia?” before I had time to say no he was off and running. That man talked to me throughout the entire game, giving unusual commentary laced with profanity and periodically bringing up other useless trivia that no one would ever know exact him. Now, it’s right about now I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “okay, now what’s the point of all this?”

As we began our drive home I began to come under conviction. I could tell in my heart that this man was lonely and just wanted someone to talk too. I spent that entire night internally picking him apart and never once did it pop into my head that maybe this man needs to hear about Jesus. In Romans 8:29 it says that “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son”.  When I read in the Gospels about the character of Jesus, I can only imagine how Christ would have turned that baseball game into a life changing experience for that scruffy old man.

My encouragement to you and myself is this. God is placing people in our lives on a day to day basis that we can have the pleasure of sharing Christ with. Don’t fall into this trap like I did and miss a divine appointment that my Savior had laid out for me. We need to have a watchful eye for these moments and be ready to act on behalf of our King. Whether these moments come in our families, our workplaces or at a local minor league baseball game… when God throws you a pitch, always be ready to knock it out of the park for the glory of our Savior. – Graeme Wilson serves full-time at America’s Keswick in the areas of IT/AV, Marketing and Programming

Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 18-19; Matthew 23:23-39

Quote of the day: “We are all missionaries…Wherever we go, we either bring people nearer to Christ, or we repel them from Christ.”  ~Eric Liddell

Bible Memory: Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end. Psalm 119:111-112 ESV