Small-Ball Christian Living
September 8, 2009
“Mama, Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.”
Rachael’s jaw slackened ground-ward as she heard this precious gospel truth emerge from our 3-year-old daughter’s mouth. After a few moments of stun, she finally realized where Sophia learned this statement. For the past few months we have been listening to and watching Steve Green’s “Hide ‘Em In Your Heart” scripture memory songs. While our children do not fully grasp the concepts of righteousness, sin, redemption, and Lordship, their day is punctuated with Bible snippets such as “Hosanna to the son of David!” and “Do to others what you would have them do to you” and “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good!”
Playing music for our children is embarrassingly easy, so this is no plug for my forthcoming book about “successful godly parenting.” But whether intentionally or not, it seems that we have stumbled upon a way to fulfill one of the central formulas for discipleship in the scriptures: “These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).
To borrow from sports vocabulary, this text promotes small-ball spiritual growth. In baseball, small-ball is an approach to scoring runs that depends on small advances like singles, stolen bases, bunts, sacrifice flies, and hit-and-runs. On the other extreme would be depending on the team’s sluggers to hit doubles, triples, and home runs.
Baseball aside, here is the point: growth in the faith primarily happens through small, consistent steps. While we all have home-run moments we can point to, I think we would agree that sustained spiritual development in our lives has come from connecting with gospel realities throughout our day-as we sit at home, as we drive in our cars, when we meditate and pray before bed, and when we rise to spend time with God in the morning.
Sophia does not understand the depths of what it means when she sings, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). To be honest, none of us fully grasp God’s love. But the fact that these gospel statements permeate her day convicts me of how much I am holding fast to the gospel. Am I putting practical measures in place-whether music or scripture written where I will see it or brief pauses for prayer-to stay in tune with God’s unfathomable love for me in Christ? Beyond that, when I hear one of the children sing “Do to others what you would have them do to you” one minute then steal a toy the next, it convicts me about dissonances in my life between belief and action.
None of this leaves me in despair. Thankfully small-ball Christian living means I can repent daily and make small advances in my grasp of the gospel. Though I have far to go, small and consistent movements can get me there.
Moving toward Christ with you,
Pastor Chris