So I've been worshipping God outside lately (read: skipping church to go on climbing trips) and thus haven't heard a sermon of any kind in quite a little while. Returning briefly to the fold, as it were, I heard probably the best ever.
The pastor talked about teaching his daughter to play baseball. He bought the biggest whiffle ball and the biggest plastic bat he could find. First he asked her to swing the bat a few times so he could tell where the bat tended to go. Then he threw the ball in that area to maximize her chance of hitting it. Strike one. He moves closer so the ball's easier to hit. Strike two. Moves closer. Strikes three through five. He throws the ball at the bat. PING! (Or is that "thump"?) A home-run hit and she runs the bases -- the wrong way. Dad cheers her on all the same.
The pastor tied this all together by reminding us that even Abraham, the "father of many nations" and a hero of the church, had several strikes against him. He fathered Ishmael with his wife's servant Hagar, laughed at God's promise to enable him to have children with Sarah, and more. Not to overextend the metaphor, but God still gave Abraham plenty of chances at bat. Considering he's now one of the most respected figures in the world's three major monotheistic religions, you might say Abraham hit a home run.
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