Recently, San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds has been getting a lot of attention. In newspapers or on TV, Bonds is featured at least every other day, sometimes for no other reason than going hitless. But the reason Bonds is shown every day is because he continues to draw closer to Hank Aaron's record of 755 career home runs.

 

Because of this pending record, fans of Bonds are boasting about him. At the San Francisco Giants' ballpark, Bonds has his own sign in left field that says "a Giant among legends." He also has his own personal home run target, McCovey Cove, in right field, which was specifically made for Bonds.

 

I love sports-themed movies like "Facing the Giants," which I highly recommend. It is an inspirational story of courage, faith and the power of God's word. I am sure each of you can recall one of your own favorite sports movies, as well.

 

Recently, while preparing for a Sunday School class, I was reading a lesson on Jesus calling the tax collector into service. I was reminded of my high school baseball days. I remembered those games when we were tied 0-0 into the later innings and then the opposing team would score a run. As we ran into the dugout after the third out my coach would say, "That's alright. We had to score one to win, anyway." In a situation which many people would lose heart, our coach would offer us a different perspective to give us hope.

 

Let me say this: sin has a purpose.

 

The Rebels and the Whales met in the second round winners' bracket of a double elimination softball tournament. In the bottom of the first inning the Whales had runners on first and third with two outs. The batter hit a shot deep into right centerfield that was sure to score two runs and give the Whales a two-run lead. However, the runner on first left too early and was called out. In the bottom of second inning with two outs and the bases loaded, a Whales player lined a seed into the left centerfield gap, which would have scored at least two runs, but the batter was called out for stepping on home plate. In the top of the third, a close call went the way of the Rebels, turning what could have been the third out into a six-run, two-out rally for the Rebels.