08 21 08 Twenty-Seven Outs

“My son Timothy, I give you these teachings. They are in keeping with the prophecies that were once made about you. By following them, you can fight the good fight.” (1 Timothy 1:18 NIrV)

In a baseball game, a team must record TWENTY-SEVEN OUTS before the game is over. Each inning stays alive until the team batting makes three outs and the game consists of nine innings. No matter how badly a team is losing, they still have a chance until the 27th out is recorded! Conversely, the winning team counts down the outs until the 27th is obtained. You also may have heard the saying, “The game isn’t over until the fat lady sings;” a famous quote of the baseball legend and hall-of-famer Yogi Berra, referring to the last song of an opera.

As Paul was encouraging his young disciple Timothy, he mentioned earlier that he (Paul), though the chief of sinners (1Timothy 16:15), was granted the mercy of God to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. Timothy had been trained from a child in the ways of the Lord and Paul encouraged him to continue that work. Though things may seem a bit challenging at times and all may seem lost, the game goes on! It isn’t over until God says it’s over in this case!

Just as there are TWENTY-SEVEN OUTS in a baseball game, four quarters in basketball and football, and a finish line in racing, God has a set time for our lives and for this world. We fight until the finish. We compete for the souls of our friends, family, and even strangers. We battle the enemies of God: humanism, hedonism, relativism, cults, and other plans of Satan to blind people from the Truth of God. It is warfare; physically and spiritually. Many times, we have no idea how large the battle really is, but we fight until either He comes for us or He comes for all who believe!

No matter what the score may seem to be, we stay in the game. We never give up, even when the crowd goes home and the cheering stops. Remember, DADDY is still on our side! He has a plan to pull out victory from defeat. He did it before: the cross and the grave are empty! We still have outs to play. The fat lady may be standing, but until she sings…

God decides the outcome. He blows the whistles. He says “Game Over”! Let’s not give up before the finish. Losers lose…winners win. Compete to win, because we do! Step up to the plate and swing for the fences. Look forward to the game-ending celebration with our Savior!