Everlasting Life

2 Corinthians 3:6 (NIV)

6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

As able ministers of the New Testament, they were ministers not merely of the letter, to read the written word, or to preach the letter of the gospel only, but they were ministers of the Spirit also; the Spirit of God did accompany their ministrations. The letter killeth; this the letter of the law does, for that is the ministration of death; and if we rest only in the letter of the gospel we shall be never the better for so doing, for even that will be a savour of death unto death; but the Spirit of the gospel, going along with the ministry of the gospel, giveth life spiritual and life eternal. [Matthew Henry Commentary]

Everything about baseball is predicated on precision and predictability. A .260 hitter might have a good or bad year, but eventually he will revert to his norm. He will hit .260. It's the same with pitching. Conventional hurlers deliberately try to spin the ball in a certain way. Depending on that spin, the ball will sink or curve, break left or right.

But there's one notable exception to baseball's predictability—the knuckleball. A good knuckleball hardly spins at all. Because a knuckler doesn't spin, it's entirely unpredictable. Charlie Hough, one of the greatest knuckleball pitchers of all time once said, "The wind currents make the ball bob around like a Whiffle ball and it might break two or three different times on the way to the plate." As a result, the pitcher and the catcher—let alone the hitter—have no idea where the ball is going.

The knuckleball throws a hitter's hitting instincts off-kilter, especially for big sluggers with big swings who have less time to react. Yankee outfielder Bobby Murcer once said the challenge of hitting a knuckleball was like "trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks." Another Yankee, Mickey Mantle, said bluntly: "Knuckleballers. I hate 'em all." And as for catching a knuckleball pitcher? Good luck. Joe Torre once said, "[Catchers need to] use a big glove and a pair of rosary beads." [Adapted from Steven V. Roberts, "The history of the knuckleball, baseball's most difficult pitch," The Washington Post (4-3-15)]

Sometimes trying to determine God’s will is like trying to hit a knuckle ball; we just don’t know which direction things will go. Fortunately we have God who has given us His word to lead and remind us. In the verse above we know we are preachers of The Gospel. We are not to destroy one another, but instead give hope to a peaceful and everlasting life.