27 - 0

I have been playing baseball and softball most of my life. And I've been playing softball in a church league for about 4 years now and love it.

Well tonight I think I suffered the biggest loss I have ever experienced in all my years of playing ball.....on any level. We were slaughtered tonight 27-0! That's right....not one run in the game of softball. Pitiful, absolutely pitiful.

The tough thing is our team is really good. We have a really good coach and this is the best we've been in four years and so it was a tough loss tonight. These kind of games, playing with a team of guys you love playing ball with, really helps in learning how to win and lose for the glory of God.

I love sports and I love team sports. Other than living life with the church (the body of Christ), there's nothing like taking the diamond with a bunch of guys who love the game as much as you do and play their hearts out.....well except for winning, because I do not like losing!

I love how the Bible is sprinkled with sports analogies. The Apostle Paul realized the significance of comparing the Christian life to a race and a fight, and after an extremely tough and embarrassing loss tonight, it makes me want to play better and win more.

God has really used the game of softball to allow me to see the similarities between the two and to desire for our church to live and pursue spiritual victories in Christ together on the field of life.

One of my good friends, Tommie Stewart, told me tonight in the dugout, "there has to be a sermon illustration in this game somewhere." Well I'm sure he's right, so I'll be looking to use it one day, but probably not this Sunday....still hurts to lose (hahaha!)!