In Christ alone.
In Christ alone I place my trust
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory let it be said of me
My source of strength, my source of hope is Christ alone - Michael English, In Christ Alone
Thump, thump, thump, thump...
The Iron Pigs were down 8-0 early in our first playoff game last night at the ball park. Now we found ourselves down 14-11 in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was nerve wracking enough that we were seemingly mounting a comeback of epic proportions and had the bases loaded with 2 outs. Then, the winning run strode to the plate. This was no ordinary batter mind you; he was the winning run. And he was my son. Well, he managed to get two strikes on him.
Thump, thump, thump, thump...take a breath, Son.
Take a breath, Dad.
Well, then the pitcher made a mistake and gave him a pitch between his belly button and chest. My son swung and drove the ball between the first and second basemen and the rally continued. We were now at the top of the order and there he was. The winning run. My son. On first base. The look of relief on his face was incredible. He then, eventually, ended up crossing the plate on a single by one of his teammates. Here was the only pic I got of the whole situation:
(Can you see his teammates with their feet off the ground knowing they had won the game?) Drew got the game ball for the clutch hit and he had done it. Already emotional I was reminded of another epic comeback and, more importantly, a press conference after the game.
Frank Reich, quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, rallied the Bills to a 41-38 victory over the Houston Oilers in a playoff game after having been down 35-3 early in the third quarter. Rather than praise himself or his teammates, he decided to praise his God and read the lyrics for In Christ Alone at the press conference.
I took my son aside, imperfectly perhaps, and overwhelmed with emotion I relayed to him the circumstances of the Reich comments and repeated the lyrics that he had read during that press conference. I told him that his hit was awesome and that he deserved the game ball. Yet, greater still, would be him taking this awesome victory and revealing to the world that the source of his strength and hope was not in his skill, practice, or ability. It wasn't in his personality, family, coaches, or teammates. It is in Christ alone and the work that Jesus did on his behalf to secure his salvation. That is true power. The rest is nothing but frailty and outright impotence.
Remember that, Son. Remember that Christ alone and what he has given you is all you have in this life and in the life to come. And thank him that he is all you will ever need.
Remember that, Dad. I need it more than he does, don't I God?
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory let it be said of me
My source of strength, my source of hope is Christ alone - Michael English, In Christ Alone
Thump, thump, thump, thump...
The Iron Pigs were down 8-0 early in our first playoff game last night at the ball park. Now we found ourselves down 14-11 in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was nerve wracking enough that we were seemingly mounting a comeback of epic proportions and had the bases loaded with 2 outs. Then, the winning run strode to the plate. This was no ordinary batter mind you; he was the winning run. And he was my son. Well, he managed to get two strikes on him.
Thump, thump, thump, thump...take a breath, Son.
Take a breath, Dad.
Well, then the pitcher made a mistake and gave him a pitch between his belly button and chest. My son swung and drove the ball between the first and second basemen and the rally continued. We were now at the top of the order and there he was. The winning run. My son. On first base. The look of relief on his face was incredible. He then, eventually, ended up crossing the plate on a single by one of his teammates. Here was the only pic I got of the whole situation:
Frank Reich, quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, rallied the Bills to a 41-38 victory over the Houston Oilers in a playoff game after having been down 35-3 early in the third quarter. Rather than praise himself or his teammates, he decided to praise his God and read the lyrics for In Christ Alone at the press conference.
I took my son aside, imperfectly perhaps, and overwhelmed with emotion I relayed to him the circumstances of the Reich comments and repeated the lyrics that he had read during that press conference. I told him that his hit was awesome and that he deserved the game ball. Yet, greater still, would be him taking this awesome victory and revealing to the world that the source of his strength and hope was not in his skill, practice, or ability. It wasn't in his personality, family, coaches, or teammates. It is in Christ alone and the work that Jesus did on his behalf to secure his salvation. That is true power. The rest is nothing but frailty and outright impotence.
Remember that, Son. Remember that Christ alone and what he has given you is all you have in this life and in the life to come. And thank him that he is all you will ever need.
Remember that, Dad. I need it more than he does, don't I God?
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