Opening Day

“To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” – Ephesians 4:22-24

Opening Day in Major League Baseball is a day unlike any other. It provides a sense of renewal as ballparks, which have been shut down all winter, open to thousands of fans who are eager for the warmth of spring and our national pastime to return. Players and fans are filled with hope for September pennant chases, October baseball, and World Championship rings. Rookies burst onto the scene, and aging veterans begin their last season before retiring. Each year provides fresh storylines, but each year is also the same.

The game is still the same as it has always been. Warmups, stretching, bullpen sessions, and batting practice are the same. Players stick to pregame rituals, and fans still buy hot dogs and peanuts. But each season provides a new opportunity for growth and improvement on the year before.

As with our Christian lives. Each day, though brand new, is the same as yesterday. Except there is one difference: you get to make the new day better than the day before. The challenges, though maybe not the same in exact detail, are the same. Temptations rarely change; they just rear their ugly heads in a variety of ways.

So, each day as you wake up and approach the challenges the day will bring, God is giving you another chance to make that day better than the one before. The day may look familiar, but that doesn’t mean the previous day’s outcomes have to be similar as well. You can make today different. With Jesus, you can win today and make today the Opening Day of a life of service to your Creator.

– DANIEL MATTHEWS

(PHOTO CREDIT: Silveira Neto)