Day 31 – FridayAll I See is You
Today I took my 8-year-old son Daniel to his first baseball game. Sure, he’s played tee-ball for the past two years, but this was his first adult-sized baseball game on a big field. We watched the Virginia Cavaliers beat the stuffings out of Boston College, with a 7-1 victory. Daniel asked lots of questions about the rules of the game that he hadn’t picked up in tee-ball, enjoyed the music and foot-stomping, the mascots, and the mid-game diversions.. We both brought our baseball gloves, in hopes of catching a foul ball that sailed into the bleachers. I only have one word to say about that—Nets! Phooey on those nets! After the game, Daniel got his glove autographed by four of the players. You would have thought his glove had been blessed by four angels and imbued with divine qualities. We went to Wendy’s for dinner after the game, and he said, “I’m not taking my glove off during dinner. During our desert at Wendy’s, Daniel told me, “You know, the top of the Frosty looks like a pitcher’s mound.” When I finally got him home, I carried his sleeping frame from the van and put him into bed. He was still wearing his freshly signed glove.
Daniel made me think of a Christian who has freshly experienced the depth of God’s presence—the glory of a first-hand contact with the love and holiness of the Father. That’s different from religion, you know. Religion is like someone who has read about baseball, knows the rules inside and out, can tell you all the players’ stats, but has never been to a game. Religion is like someone who’s watched it on TV, but never felt the rush of adrenaline at the crack of the bat or the slap of ball into glove. The Christian who’s experienced God first-hand will never be the same.
Just as Daniel left the game with nothing but baseball on his mind, even imagining a pitcher’s mound in his soft-serve milkshake, so a Christian who has had a life-altering direct experience of God will never be the same. That Christian will go through life seeing God in everything. It’s been said that if you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail. For Daniel, I’d say if you’re a baseball bat, everything looks like a ball. If you’re one of those radically transformed, sold-out, crazy Christians, then you can say to God, “All I see is You!” You’ll see God in all things. He’ll teach you His lessons while you’re walking down the road, or playing with your kids, or hard at work—everywhere you Go, He’ll show you His heart.
How do you get that way? Yeah—you knew I’d say it. Prayer. You have to spend time with God in order for God to radically transform you. You’ve got to immerse yourself in His awesome presence. You’ve got to study His stats, learn His rules, and spend time in His park. You’ve got to eat His popcorn and cracker jacks, and root, root, root for His home team. You’ve got to let Him autograph your heart with His great name. Then, and only then, will you be able to say you truly know His game.
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