Digging Deeper – The Game Goes On (For Now)
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
2 Peter 3:8-9 (NLT)
THE GAME GOES ON (FOR NOW)
I’ve now completed the baseball life cycle: I was called out and safe by umpires as a player, I yelled at umpires as a coach, and I am now getting my due as an umpire. And with all this talk of anger, patience, and long-suffering this week, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share a relevant umpire story on the matter.
It was just a couple weeks ago. I was behind the plate for a 16U rec game at a local park. In the bottom of the first inning, I had to call “time” and walk out to the mound to speak with the pitcher. He was upset because I wasn’t calling pitches “strikes” to his liking. He let me know this through facial expressions, shaking his head, and waving his arms in protest.
“I don’t expect you to agree with every call I make,” I said. “But you’re not going to continue to act this way when I make a call you don’t agree with. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. But you need to exercise some self-discipline and keep it to yourself. This is a warning.”
Later in the inning, with a 2-2 count on the hitter, the catcher tried to frame what he believed should have been Strike Three. The problem was that it was a foot off the plate and in the other batter’s box. The pitch hit the mitt, and he took a couple steps toward the dugout and was about to roll the ball out the mound, thinking the inning was over. Not hearing anything from me, he looked back over his shoulder.
“Where are you going?” I asked. “Don’t try to pull that stuff with me. Especially on a pitch that far off the plate.”
“I thought it was a strike,” he replied.
“You thought THAT was a strike!?!?” I exclaimed. I then showed him with my foot where the pitch was. “It was way out here in the other batter’s box.”
The catcher didn’t like that I was giving him the business and started mouthing off. I called his coach out and explained what was happening, and that I was doing all I could to keep his catcher in the game. We eventually continued and finished the inning. This was only the beginning.
The next inning, the same pitcher and catcher were out there again for this team. Same thing was happening – pitches missing inside or outside, between 6-12 inches off the plate. The catcher certainly wasn’t helping, as he held the pitch for 2-3 seconds each time.
Finally, one of the assistant coaches had seen enough. “Come on, Blue. You’ve got to give him something!”
I called “time” and held up my hand. “We are NOT arguing balls and strikes. Especially when they are a foot off the plate and in the other batter’s box!”
The assistant coach chimed in again, and once more I stated sternly that we would not be arguing balls and strikes. The head coach then replied, “Well, SOMEONE needs to!”
As you may suspect that coach was ejected from the game. And it only got uglier from there. More arguments, more unkind words from coaches on one team towards parents from the other. It was snow-balling, and I was doing all I could to avoid a melee.
One parent (on the well-behaved team) asked, “Why don’t you just end the game? This is miserable for everyone!”
I replied, “The only reason I haven’t ended the game is for the kids who are doing the right thing out here. They deserve an opportunity to play.”
Some of us wonder the same thing about God: why hasn’t He just ended this “game”? With all the misery, tragedy, and evil in the world, it’s a valid question. On that note, let’s revisit our verse of the day from 2 Peter 3:8-9.
Time as we experience it here and now is not the same as how God views it or experiences it. And, there’s one reason why He is patient with humanity in Jesus’ second coming: He wants everyone to come to know Him!
When you see and feel the pain of this world, remember His plan is perfect, as well as His timing. His love for us all keeps the gates of heaven open and provides an opportunity for the lost to find their way Home!
C.A. Phillips serves as Communications Pastor and Director of Men’s Groups at NorthStar Church. He is a graduate of the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia, and he loves the Dawgs and the Atlanta Braves. He has two (grown) boys and lives in Kennesaw with his wife, Amy, and their German Shepherd, Abby.
