For the Love of Baseball: Learning to See Life Clearly

After a full day of working in Young Life, I finally pull into my driveway. It’s an early evening. The sky looks calm, a few passing clouds, and my house seems quiet, at least for now. “Whew. . . I can breathe,” I think to myself. “It’s nice to be home.” I open my truck door and though it seems peaceful, the air begins to swallow me. It’s late summer, so the Midwest stickiness envelops my world.

Greeted by The Babe

Two things are on my mind at this moment. The first is the weather. Warm and muggy evenings slow me down. The second is my thirteen-year old Justin. I know he’s going to see me, and when he does, a little stickiness is a small price to pay for connecting with his dad. Before I even get off the driveway, the front door swings open. A sensitive, five-foot seven, lanky kid rushes out. He’s looking straight at me. “What?” he says, but he needn’t say anything. I know exactly what he’s doing. He has a glove in his left hand, a baseball cap on his head, and a bat over his shoulder. He’s ready to play ball.

Rather than play into Justin’s hopes directly, I ask him a simple question, “Hey buddy, who are you today?” He pauses and gives me a funny, yet predictable look. “Dad, you know!” he responds. “Perhaps I do, but why don’t you help me out anyway? Are you Elvis? Michael Jackson? Babe Ruth? Who are you today?” Justin shakes his head. “Dad, you know I’m Babe Ruth. Let’s go!” It’s time for some catch and an opportunity for extended imagination on the front yard grass.

Looking for Justin’s Development

Lest the reader be a bit puzzled, this back and forth I have with my son happens almost every day. It’s been happening for years. “Justin, who are you?” I ask. He tells me he’s a superhero, or someone famous, even if that person has left this world long ago. I’m a bit conflicted, not because I also want to be a famous person. I’m conflicted because although I’m enjoying Justin’s childhood, I’m also looking forward to witnessing the development of Justin’s view of himself and the world. “Patience, Paul. Patience,” I think to myself. For now, Justin is simply revealing part of his personal perceptual framework, and today he happens to be The Babe.

Perceptual Framework and Children

What is a perceptual framework? It’s a very important and even profound question. According to M. Robert Mulholland Jr., a perceptual framework is the way we see ourselves, the way we see others, and most of all, the way we see God.

Every child has a perceptual framework. A WebMD article tells us that at first a child cannot see very far. He or she doesn’t even see in color until about four months. In the early days, children are focused upon faces. I suspect God designed them that way, so they can bond with their mothers. When they are ready, they will learn to see more of their world. At first, they may be consciously unaware of God, but from the very beginning they are learning about Him. Is God good? They will learn that from their mother. Is God holy other? They will learn that from their dad.

In an ideal world, all children come from a perfect family. Healthy bonding and good modeling occurs, and we all live in the love and will of God. Yet we know that is not the case. Children from even the best families grow up with a variety of problems, and they do not see the world as God intends. That’s one of the reasons preachers remind their congregants of God’s great love nearly every Sunday morning.

Our Own Perceptual Framework

Now it’s time to get a little bit personal. Like Justin, we have our own perceptual framework. We may know we’re not The Babe, but how do we view ourselves, others, and God?

Reflecting on You

How do you see yourself? Do you like what you see? Are you a little too aware of your faults? Perhaps you’re not aware enough of those faults. You certainly have one or two, if you’re a human being. Do you see the truth about yourself, that God’s purpose in you is to become like Jesus Christ and even bless the world? Do you know that you are valued by Him, and loved by Him?

Reflecting on Others

How do you see other people? Do you like them? Do you see most of them as being for you, or against you? Can you trust them? Should you trust them? Jesus, when He was physically on this earth, certainly loved people, but He was wise enough not to always trust them. We read in John’s Gospel,

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. (John 2:23-25)

Those verses are certainly worth thinking about, but we also have to remember that He loved all people and desires all people to be saved (see 1 Timothy 2:4). People are complex, and we certainly need to see them through God’s eyes.

Reflecting on God

Finally, how do you see and understand God? That’s the biggest question of all, isn’t it? The way we see God directly determines everything else. So consider how 1 Peter begins:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope . . . . (1 Peter 1:3)

Do you see that God is for you? Some people think that God is against them, especially because of their difficult circumstances, but God is not against them. He is for them, and He is for you! So it follows that if God is for you in the midst of your sin, then God must be incredibly good. He is good enough, and you are valued enough, for God to love you. I mean, to really love you!

These Perspectives Cannot be Separated

Each of the objects of love is worth a lifetime of reflection, yet neither of them is independent of each other. If we love ourselves, we understand that we are made in God’s image and that God values us. By definition, if God values us, we have incredible worth. If we truly love others, we begin to see them as God sees them. We will look out for their best interests. Finally, if we love God, He gives us eyes to see the world in the way He sees the world. These things simply cannot be separated.

Two More Bible Passages

For further reflection, here are two more passages that directly connect with our topic:

1 John 4:20

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 

Matthew 22:36-40

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Bringing it Home with Some Encouragement

Coming back to children and baseball, we see that in the midst of our imperfections, in our inability to love at all times the way God loves, our Father in heaven offers us grace. (Aren’t you glad our God is an expert at raising children?)

A child improves his or her baseball skills as he or she plays. “Get in the game and play!” we might say to our son or daughter. In life as adults, we also need to play the game. We’re not going to get it right every time, but God’s intention is for us to grow. He will nurture and care and love us as we develop. Let’s be clear: to see ourselves, others and God correctly is not an impossibility. Don’t buy into the lie that we can never be like Jesus. He said to His disciples,

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

Fully loving God, ourselves, and others can come into our hearts, even if we experience those things briefly before we trip up again. It’s okay. We serve a gracious God. If we ask Him to help us, He will pick us up and help us run around the bases. God wants our lives to be filled with His joy. Although it’s a process, He wants our lives to be filled with His love.

We’ll talk more about the process of seeing in the coming posts.