Hitting the Ball

One of the goals at a previous youth conference was to teach kids how to share their faith.  The leaders would take them to a mall so they could practice doing this.  Yes, I did it too.  It was one of those intense moments for them as they went up to a total stranger and shared their faith.  Why, though?

            I can’t explain it but I have experienced that scary feeling also.  There is something about going up to someone and sharing your faith.  When you look at all the facts, it seems puzzling.  First, you probably will never see that person again.  Second, that person doesn’t know you so who cares if he or she was put off by what you did.  Third, if God could die and rise again, then can’t He use you to change a few lives?

            Hitting the ball in baseball is such a great challenge, depending on the speed of the pitch.  Some of the most feared pitchers are the ones with high velocity pitches.  And all it takes is one time to get hit by a ball to realize the intensity of the batter’s box.  Yet, the only way to win the game is in the batter’s box.  It takes dedicated swinging practice, and preparation for the various styles of pitching.

            When the youth would return from their journey of sharing their faith with complete strangers, they had some of the greatest stories.  They would all want to share their experiences with me.  You could see the power, and the way they were inspired as they shared the Gospel.  They found out that most of the things they were worried about didn’t matter.  Once they hit the ball, they forgot about the batter’s box entirely.

            I studied one of my favorite readings in Acts as I prepared for this series in evangelism.  I recognized Philip’s depth as he talked to the Eunuch about his faith.  There may be some truth that this guy did have some sense of God’s Word before his conversation with Philip.  There is definitely a reminder that to a certain extent, this was a guy who was an outcast.  Philip’s willingness to speak to him, showed his desire to hit the ball.

            There are so many introspective moments in the Christian walk.  Honestly, some of these self focused moments pull us away from the commission Jesus has given us.  The key is to stay as focused as possible; to hit the ball, and not let the distractions get to us.  

            An amazing thing that is happening this year is that the Red Birds are able to keep scoring with two outs.  They are one of the best teams in the major leagues able to accomplish this.  When the strikes are against them they still come through.

            Week three is never about the count.  It is all about hitting the ball.  Forget the count.  Forget what you did last week.  Start fresh and be ready to hit the ball!