Hope & Faith

Despite the fact that the temperature was near 40 again last night, Spring Training is now in full swing here in sunny Florida!  The Yankees are here in Tampa; the Phillies are in nearby Clearwater; the Braves are at Disney World; and other teams are spread out all over the southern half of the state. The local papers are full of stories about the Tampa Bay Rays (that's Rays star Evan Longoria, pictured going yard to beat the Red Sox last year) and their chances for success this season.  I have always enjoyed spring baseball, especially back when my Dad and I had season tickets to see the Braves at Disney back in 1997-98.  Everything feels so fresh and new in the spring.  Players are friendly and laid back.  And most importantly, every team has hope and faith.

You see, during spring training every team is 0-0.  No wins yet, but more importantly, no losses.  These groups of professional athletes gather with eternal optimism.  No matter how bad they were in the previous season, they have HOPE that this will be their year.  No matter how many years (or centuries, Cubs fans!) it has been since they were last champions, spring training is a time for fans to have FAITH in their team.    And no matter how bad they may be this year, next spring the same hope and faith will be present.

Those of us who follow Jesus should know exactly what this hope and faith feels like.  We have access to it every day.  No matter how bad the situation, no mater how tragic the circumstances, no matter how deep the sin, we need to understand that through grace we can start our "season" anew by simply turning it all over to Jesus.  Unlike baseball, when we fail we can have a total "do over."  Unlike Cubs fans, Christ-followers can go through life with the knowledge that in the end, God wins!  Our hope and faith are not in the things of men or in our own abilities, but in the love and grace of God.  We never have to leave spring training- our record is back to "even" every time we confess our sins.  It's really an amazing thing...

Maybe this will be the year that the hope and faith of Cubs fans will be rewarded.  Maybe it is the year my Rays return to the World Series!  Either way, isn't it great to know that the hope and faith of Jesus fans are rewarded everyday?  No one is a loser when they are following the Son...

Because of Jesus,