Have you ever been in a slump? Just about everyone has, at some point in their life, experienced a time when everything seemed to go wrong at the same time and you couldn't do anything right.
Imagine how it would feel to be a baseball player in a slump, or an entire team in a slump. Imagine if you will, the pressure of coming to the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning, with the game on the line. The bases are loaded and you represent the winning run. Everyone is counting on you to "come through"...and you strike out, or hit into a double play, and the big game is over. Your own disappointment is matched by that of your teammates and fans.
And now, remember that as Christians, we share the biggest victory of all. This victory doesn't depend on what we do, but only on our faith in Jesus Christ. Because of his suffering on the cross, we have won the victory over death and are given the gift of life eternal in his kingdom. A current contemporary Christian song reminds us that our salvation is "not because of who I am, but because of what You did; not because of what I've done, but because of who You are."
In the post-season game of life, we don't have to worry about letting anyone down because of God's gift of his son and the grace we are offered through our faith. So, the next time you are at the plate with the bases loaded and see the Devil pitching to you...remember that Jesus will come in as your pinch hitter and hit the ultimate grand slam to win the game...as long as you let him into your game, your life.Mary Lewis (written October 28, 2004, the day after the Cardinals were swept in the 2004 World Series) for the 2005 St. Mark Presbyterian Lenten Devotional
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