Spiritual Freedom (Bot9 #282)
In his letter to the Galatian church, Paul says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Paul is saying that the reason Christ went through all that He did in His life, on the cross, and through the resurrection was to provide us with freedom.
Freedom is a gift given to us by God. We don’t like it when our freedom is taken away. Look at how baseball players are reacting to this idea of ‘social distancing.’ Players at all levels are trying to figure out how to organize their own games. Trevor Bauer organized a pickup wiffle ball game. High school baseball players across the state are trying to figure out how to play the game on their own. We’re grabbing at freedom to get back on the field, but we can’t miss the opportunity to grab a different kind of freedom - spiritual freedom.
While we have this break in the action on the baseball field and from life, we have the opportunity to take stock of where we are in our soul and in our relationship with God. So many other things consume our time, talent, and treasure that we rarely grab onto the chance to connect with the Lord. I believe this - we will be better the next time we come together to play if we focus on making spiritual gains during this season of time.
I’m going to practice this four things daily and invite all of you to do the same:
1. Pause - Earlier this school year, I downloaded the Pause app. Twice per day I stop everything to open the app and listen for 1, 3, or 5 minutes (I haven’t made it to 10 minutes yet). As I’ve built the habit of dedicating pockets of my day to this practice, my days have been more peaceful and I’ve been a better leader. On days I miss the pause, I’m more frazzled. Find time to pause.
2. Read - Chances are I’ll read multiple books over this break. I just finished The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek and am picking up a book I haven’t read for many years, Baseball as a Road to God. Baseball is a game with more stillness than action. By Wall Street Journal calculations, a baseball fan will see 17 minutes and 58 seconds of action over the course of a three-hour game. Our ability to still our minds in between action makes us better players and people. Slow down and read.
3. Write - Though I will likely write pieces like this and creatively throughout the break, I’m also going to dive back into writing in the Jounible series (part journal, part Bible). Four years ago, I physically wrote the book of Matthew in my first Journible. During this break, I’m going to write out as much of the book of Luke as I can to inscribe God’s Word on my heart. Exercise you’re writing muscles.
4. Connect - Lastly, call people. Don’t text them, don’t snap them. Call them. Talk with them. Build community. I’m going to connect with all of our players multiple times over the next couple of weeks. Do the same. Connect with one another.
In 2 Corinthians 1:10, Paul writes, “He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again.” We know that this is true in this moment. I was reintroduced to a great word just this morning - ineffable. Ineffable means “too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words.” That’s our God. We try to use words to express His greatness and His glory, but they will always fall short.
That’s how I feel about our Brotherhood as well. It, too, is ineffable. It’s one of the hardest things in the world to explain to other people, especially those who have never experienced that kind of closeness with a group of people. He’s given that to us as a gift as an opportunity to draw closer to Him. He is the Creator of our unity, and we need to draw closer to Him in this time.
Until we hit the field again, take time each day to read Psalm 91 aloud. He is our shelter, our place of refuge, and we trust Him. He is this source of spiritual freedom