Take me out to the ballgame

There are few things better in this world than settling in to a stadium seat on a nice summer night. Hot dog in one hand, foam finger in the other hand, with an ice cold Dr. Pepper balanced precariously between my legs... life doesn't get much better than this.

I'm a baseball fanatic. Unfortunately, my team of choice is the Texas Rangers. (I'm also a Dallas Cowboys and Oklahoma State University die-hard, so I've learned how to lose gracefully). With the Rangers 13.5 games behind the Angels, I am thrilled to have the diversion that the Little League World Series provides.

The Little League World Series is real baseball. There are no contract negotiations, steroid scandals, or labor strikes in Little League. There are not endorsement deals. They don't receive celebrity status. They get a free baseball cap, and a chance to live their dreams with kids from all over the world on ESPN. These kids play hard, think hard, run hard, slide hard, throw hard, and hit hard, and they do it for the love of the game. And they leave it all on the field. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and they know it.

Wouldn't it be nice if Christians lived the Christian life the way these kids play baseball? One of the little league coaches told his pitcher yesterday, "Son, no guts, no glory." Isn't that the truth?

Every single day we live is a once in a lifetime opportunity. "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in [the grave] where you are going" (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Play hard. Run hard. Leave everything you have on the playing field. Today is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

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