Last month my hubby and I took a
trip to Seattle Seattle Northern California I was born an
A’s fan. I went to my first game at just three weeks old. Now that Alaska
In the
weeks leading up to our trip I spent some time watching some of my favorite
baseball inspired flicks- Fever Pitch, Moneyball, Field of Dreams- to get me in
the baseball spirit. Now, I’ve probably watched Field of Dreams fifty times as
a child and my dad even used it as a tool in his work as a substance abuse
counselor. I never got the full spiel on what message it spoke to his clients,
but I always assumed it was something along the lines of “don’t give up on your
dreams, set your sights ahead and keep moving toward the goal and you’ll get
there.” As I watched Field of Dreams for the first time in years, I started to
see spiritual parallels within aspects of the movie. They started being
revealed early on in my viewing and I started jotting down notes and my
thoughts and the connections I was making. In honor of the World Series
starting this week I decided to take the time to put everything into words, put
those words in the right order and share the insight that came just from
watching a movie I’ve seen too many times about the best game on earth.
Baseball? It' s just a game - as simple as a ball and a
bat. Yet, as complex as the American spirit it symbolizes. It' s a sport, business - and sometimes even
religion. ~Ernie Harwell, "The Game for All America
We all know the famous line where The Voice says to Ray, “If
you build it, he will come” and while in the movie Ray’s obedience to The Voice
yields the arrival of Shoeless Joe Jackson and eventually his own father, a lot
of connection can be made here to our Spiritual walk. The Bible speaks of God’s
call for us to build a life and develop a willing heart that plays host to the
Spirit. Only with the Spirit active within us can we God carry out his work
through us. We are to be instruments of God’s love but we cannot do that
without having God within us, walking us through life. We need the guidance,
communication and help of the Spirit. If we build an open heart, will the Holy
Spirit not come? Scripture tell us He will. In John 14:26 Jesus speaks God’s
promise regarding the Spirit- “But the
Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach
you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” How
great is our God to allow us to participate in His mighty work and equip us
with an ever-present helpmate we can carry in our hearts.
After Ray admits to hearing voices in his
corn field and eventually yields to the call of The Voice he finds himself
surrounded by the judgmental stares, disbelief, and direct objection of his scoffing
neighbors. He becomes the village idiot because he’s plowed into his income
producing crops to passionately pursue something only he can see the value of.
Isn’t this exactly what the Bible tells us we, as Christians, will encounter in
the world- persecution, scoffing, judgment, trials- as we value what the
earthly eye can’t see. God’s word tells us we will live in a world where there
is a dissonance between what God values and what the world values. John 2:15-16
says, “Do
not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of
life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” God charges us to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” in James 4:8.
Drawing near involves pursuing- through study of the Word, prayer, seeking
guidance and, sometimes stepping out in faith, among an audience of scoffers
who are quick to tell you all the reasons that faith isn’t enough, that God
isn’t big enough to overcome whatever has been set before you. But scripture
tells us otherwise. Jesus says in John 16:33, “These things I have
spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have
tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Not only can we be confident in our faith and
assured of the sovereignty of our God, we are reminded that we are merely in
the world, not of it. “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its
own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:19 )
At one point the lost income of the crops
Ray plowed to build his baseball field send their family into financial
distress. Even Ray is losing faith in the baseball field yielding any promise.
In one conversation with his wife, Annie, he’s distraught over the idea of
having to choose between supporting his family and stepping out in faith,
obedient to The Voice and waiting for the promised redemption. When Ray
questions having to get rid of the baseball field, Annie replies, keeping it “Makes
it real hard to keep the farm.” Scripture tells us that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from
the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
(James 1:7) Yet, it’s most challenging to recognize
that all we have comes from God when He’s asking us to give it up to Him. Those
things that we hold most dear are the hardest to turn back over to God. The
things that we take the most pride in, find our identity in, try to plan out
and control the most are all idols. They’re all taking our focus and worship
away from acknowledging the author of life and our provider. Sometimes you get
to keep both the baseball field and the farm. Sometimes you have to choose
which one to let go of. And sometimes, God takes something from you, without
your consent- forcing you to give back to Him what is already His. However it
comes about, at some point, we all experience loss. And while we grieve for
what we thought we had, God’s word tells us to celebrate the opportunities of
growth and dependence that come with loss. Philippians 3:8 says, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the
surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost
all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”
As the story unfolds, the baseball
field does deliver as The Voice promised. Shoeless Joe Jackson and a whole slew
of other (deceased) older generation baseball players show up to make use of
the field. In his first encounter with Shoeless Joe, they’re doing some hitting
practice. Ray’s going to pitch and Joe’s going to hit. Ray says, “Don’t we need
a catcher?” and Joe replies, “Not if you get it near the plate, we don’t.” The
implication here is that if Ray drops a pitch nicely into the strike zone,
Joe’s going to be able to make contact- there won’t be any strikes, just hits. There’s
a famous Babe Ruth quote that says, “Never let the fear of striking out keep
you from playing the game.” Shouldn’t that same mindset apply to our faith?
Shouldn’t we be so confident that God’s going to deliver hits from the pitches
in our lives that we aren’t afraid to swing the bat of faith at whatever
circumstances are thrown at us? Should we not be confident in His goodness in
all things so much so that we stop trying to use our own plans as a catcher in
the game of life? The Word says “for God gave us a spirit not of fear
but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7). When you choose to
admonish fear and humble yourself to God’s will and show obedience, He’s going
to equip and prepare you for the pitch. “And his
affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all
obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling.” (2 Corinthians 7:15) If you
stay on course with Him, He’s going to knock it right out of the park for you.
In a later scene, Ray’s daughter Karin asks Shoeless Joe if
he’s a ghost. He responds, “What do you think?” Her answer: “You look real to
me” to which he replies “Then I guess I’m real.” The story of Jesus revealing
his post resurrection self to Thomas carries a similar common message- seeing
is believing. But, even so, Jesus indicates that God blesses those who believe
without the confirmation of seeing. John 20:29: Then Jesus told him,
"Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have
not seen and yet have believed." Like Annie’s family who couldn’t see the
baseball players through their unbelief, sometimes our vision can be clouded by
earthly doubt and prevent us from seeing God at work. Sometimes we can’t see
the fruit beyond the reality of our circumstances. If the heart is void of
faith, the eye cannot see the spiritual fruit of God’s hand active in your
life. We must remember the promises God has made to us, that His hand is upon
all things making them good and beneficial for us, that his plans for us are
perfect and prosperous. Romans 8:28 tells us that “we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to
his purpose.” We can trust that God’s word is true in Jeremiah 29:11 where it
says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” We don’t
have to see the fruit with our eyes to know in our hearts that it’s being
cultivated.
The Voice speaks to Ray a second time saying “Ease his
pain.” The offer of salvation is ultimately about easing our pain- the pain,
and death that come with sin. Only accepting the redemption offered to us
through Christ’s death, burial and resurrection can we find deliverance from
earthly and eternal affliction. Revelation 21:4 gives us a glimpse of that the
offer extended to us- “God Himself will be among them, and He
will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any
death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain..." God
offered up the sacrifice of his own Son to deliver us, but how often do we
reflect on the physical brutality of Christ’s crucifixion and recognize the
magnitude of His selfish gift? That He would lay down his life to ease our pain
and deliver us into eternal life without the promise that we would be grateful
enough to even accept that gift. All we have to do to access that gift is to
choose it. The Enemy “comes only to steal and kill and destroy;” but
Jesus has come “that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
Pretty simple choice isn’t it?
The Voice gives Ray and third message- “Go the distance.”
How often do we become weary and need the encouragement to just keep on for one
more day, one more hour even? How can we be uplifted in a world that is pulling
at us, tearing us down and wearing us out? God spurs us on in His word.
Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper
time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” But even with our own
Heavenly Father bolstering us with His word we sometimes find ourselves
navigating with a limp along the walk the Lord has set before us. Sometimes
that walk feels more like a marathon, that we are running and racing against
something. Hebrews 12:1 says “let us run with endurance the
race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross…” Surely
anything we are facing is less significant than death on a cross to preserve
all humanity and offer eternal life through our sacrifice. Even still, do we
not find ourselves engaged in a fight against all earthly odds as we struggle
to continue on with what God has called us to? But that’s okay, because God
speaks to that, too. In 1 Timothy 6:12 He tells us “fight the good fight of the
faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made
your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” Sometimes God sets you
down in the middle of a battle, but when He does, He is faithful to equip you
to fight your way out of it.
God speaks to us in all kinds of ways- through the lyrics of
a song, the tranquility of a quiet moment, the wisdom of a friend, and
sometimes through the simplicity of our National pastime. If we listen, He will
speak.
