The asterisk

Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The world was in a sad condition, lost and in need of salvation. And while helpless to do anything, Christ died for us -- the lowly sinner. The apostle makes the point it is rare for a righteous person to die for a good, decent person and yet Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

[After a day of disparate explanations from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and the man who owns Barry Bonds’s record-setting 756th home run ball, the controversial ball was driven to Cooperstown, N.Y., on Tuesday. It arrived around 7:45 p.m.

Baker said Ecko’s personal driver delivered the ball to Horn in Cooperstown. She said an asterisk was laser-cut into the ball above the Major League logo by a master engraver and that the ball was delivered in a specially designed glass case. The case includes the details of how Ecko decided to plant an asterisk on the ball.

After Ecko bought the ball, he held an online contest to determine its future. Voters had three choices: put an asterisk on the ball; leave it alone; or shoot it to the moon. The first two choices included the addendum that the ball would be donated to the Hall. Since Bonds has been suspected of using steroids to inflate his home run total, the notion of adding an asterisk was often mentioned. [Jack Curry, The New York Times, Deal Struck as Hall Receives Home Run Ball Hit by Bonds]

The story above was about a moment of fame and a moment of disgrace represented by the asterisk. Many of us have tried to live a good life, but we probably feel there is an asterisk beside our name indicating the sins we have committed. However Christ lived and died and rose again to eternal life that we can have the mark of sin removed from us. For those that believe, Christ has justified us so that we are perfect and pure in the sight of God. Let us always remember Christ for what He did for us.