Christianity and Babe Ruth

Last night at Bible study, we read a very profound verse in Colossians.

Colossians 1:26-27
"Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"

What is the mystery this verse is talking about? My Dad put it in very good words.

Say you want to try out for the Red Sox. You go and you tell the coach that you'd like to hit a few balls.

"No way!" the coach yells. "You're a nobody!"

"Just one hit," you say.

After a hesitant sigh, the coach agrees. "One hit. That's all."

You go and grab a bat and stand on the home plate. The pitcher comes and, humorously, throws you a curve ball. You swing and THWACK! The ball flies....and mouths drop.

"Another!" you say.

A second ball is thrown. THWACK!! There it goes again.

Then you point and say "I'll hit it that way next." And sure enough. THWACK!!!

Home run.

Now everyone is standing in awe, wondering who you are! Why, you're just an average Joe and yet you play baseball like a seasoned professional!

.....but they don't know the secret. The secret is this: Babe Ruth has come back from the dead and is now living inside of you. The power and ability you have to hit home runs is only because Babe Ruth is doing it through you.

Now, let's apply this spiritually. Here we are on the field. We pick up a bat. A ball is thrown. THWACK!! A stunned Satan thought that would work. But no matter, here comes a second ball. THWACK!! Satan tries again. THWACK!! You hit it again, for the third time. Satan had a mind to strike you out, yet you hit a home run every time.

How?

Because you have a secret. The great Defeater, Jesus Christ, has come back from the dead and is now living inside of you. And every hit, every swing, every run, every victory is a direct result of His power in your life. It's not really you achieving that victory. It's Him.

We are nobodies. We can't hit a home run spiritually (or physically in my case). We can't swing a bat with the force of a Major League Baseball player. We can't resist sin. We can't glorify God in our bodies. We can't do ANYTHING.....at least on our own. But we have a secret to success. A secret to victory. A secret which is a mystery to the lost world.

Jesus Christ is inside of us...

He is the super hero....the "Babe Ruth" if you please. He is the power. He is the ability. He is the mystery that is now revealed to those who are in Him. And He is waiting for us to showcase His strength, His might, His power, His love - His everything! - in our our lives.

May it be so for all of us.