The  Greatest Pitcher Of All Time 

As his parents watched from the patio, a little boy played baseball by himself in the back yard. Of course this amounted to tossing a ball into the air and attempting to hit it with his bat. As he did so he proclaimed to no one in particular, "I’m the greatest hitter in the world!" Unfortunately, he missed the ball and, since he was the umpire too, regretfully announced, "Strike one." Undaunted the little fellow picked up the ball, threw it back into the air and said, "I’m the greatest baseball hitter ever!" With even greater intensity he swung the bat but all he caught was air for his efforts. "Strike two," he said. The boy paused a moment, examined the bat and ball carefully, and then for a third time threw the ball into the air. "I’m the greatest hitter in the history of baseball," he said. This time he swung for all he was worth, but just like the other two attempts, he missed. "Strike three," he mumbled. Then the boy sat for a moment considering what had just happened. After a minute or so, he turned to his parents and much to their surprise said, "Wow, I just struck out the greatest hitter in the world! I must be the greatest pitcher of all time."       

Attitude really matters, doesn’t it? It can make the difference between a good day and a bad day, a good marriage and a bad marriage, perhaps even a good life and a bad life. Chuck Swindoll says, "Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitude toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it."         

This is also true in the life of a church.  There are good times and bad in every congregation.  Some seem to prosper no matter what, but with others it’s just the opposite;  they always seem to be able to snatch defeat out of the mouth of every victory.  As one ponders why, it soon becomes obvious that some expect to loose while others expect to win and wring the silver lining out of every dark cloud.        

The difference can be summed up on one word, “Faith.”  Those who trust in the Lord will rise up on eagle’s wings.  God will enable us to accomplish everything HE wants done if we but have the faith to allow Him to use us.  God can make this a great congregation (  a great VBS ) and He will if we will let Him work through us.  It’s a matter of effort and of attitude.                                                         adapted 

Copyright © 2007 Shelbyville church of Christ
Last modified: 08/25/08