Morning Devotionals
by Don Emmitte
 
March 16th, 2008

 

"Baseball and Parenting"
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Today the devotional will be a bit different than usual. It is rooted in a wonderful story of a dream come true. Wearing the number 60, since that is his age, Billy Crystal will be playing baseball and hitting lead off for the Yankees! What a dream come true for him! Now that’s a real dream come true!

 

I've always loved the game of baseball. Now more than ever, I wish I could still get out

and mix it up with the young guys on a softball field. But, those are now merely memories for me. I can remember in the not too distant past when I could stand on the pitching rubber and know that as I lobbed the softball to the hitter that regardless of the skill of the batter, there were eight other players behind me who would do their best to win the game. And, we often did! They were all young enough to be my children. In fact one of them was. My son, Kyle, played second base. Most of the team was made up of his friends. They were glorious days!

 

Those memories brought me to some other thoughts though. These are thoughts about parenting. I know that seems like a huge leap, but stay with me. Baseball is a little like parenting. And, so that any parent can easily make this connection between the sport and Christian parenting principles, I've listed some common elements of baseball with passages from the Scripture to further explain what I mean:

  •  Baseball is a team sport. And, as a child of God, you are on the best team that could exist. When you align yourself with God's abilities you cannot fail. Check out the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:13.

  • Baseball requires practice. So does growing up. Paul tells teen Timothy that in 2 Timothy 2:15.

  • Baseball requires each player to do his/her assigned part. As in family life, when everyone cooperates, no one has to carry the whole responsibility. Again Paul indicates this truth in 2 Corinthians 8: 13, 14.

  • Baseball provides good coaches. And you always have good counsel from the best coach ever. God is the ultimate source of wisdom. David understood this as he says in Psalm 46: 1, 2.

  • Baseball sometimes has errors in the play. Most coaches agree that errors come from fear. We certainly will make some mistakes in our lives; however we can minimize them by trusting in the presence of God. Paul reminded Timothy of this when he wrote, "...God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1: 7).

  • Baseball can get stressful in the 9th inning. However, it’s not over until the last pitch of the last out of the last inning. Never give up. Jesus says that in Mark 10: 27: "...With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."

So, take a little time with your kids today and explain to them the spiritual applications of baseball! You'll be glad you did! After all, helping your children to grow to be more like Christ is really THE best dream come true, isn’t it?