JANUARY 2, 2013
T-Ball
Faith
Read: Luke 15:1-7
The joy of the Lord is your strength. —Nehemiah 8:10
Whoever
dreamed up T-ball is a genius: Every kid on the field gets
a taste of the fun
and joy of the game before they taste the
disappointment of striking out.
In
T-ball, a baseball is placed on a rubber tee about waist-high to the
5- and
6-year-old batters. Players swing until they hit the ball and then
run. On my
first night as a coach, the very first batter hit the ball far
into the
outfield. Suddenly every player from everyposition
ran to get
the ball instead of staying where they were supposed to. When one of
them reached it, there was nobody left in the infield for him to throw it
to!
All the players were standing together—cheering with unrestrained
exuberance!
Those
who have recently come to know Jesus as Savior have an
unrestrained joy that is
a delight to be around as well. We rejoice with
them, and so do the angels in
heaven! (Luke 15:7). New Christians are
in love with God and excited about
knowing Him and learning from His
Word.
Those
who’ve been Christians for a long time may get discouraged with
the struggles
of the Christian life and forget the joy of new-found faith.
So take the
opportunity to rejoice with those who’ve come to faith. God
can use them to
inspire you to renew your own commitment to Jesus.
Rejoice, O soul, your debt is paid,
For all your sins on Christ were laid;
We’ve been redeemed, we’re justified—
And all because the Savior died. —D. DeHaan
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation. —Psalm 51:12
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012
