No Rain Delay!

Well, I have a few more thoughts on RAIN today.  I want to report that my son’s and my prayers for the rain to hold back until after last night’s NCLS Championship game between the Giants and the Cardinals worked… at least until the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs.  Then it was as if the clouds could not contain themselves anymore and let loose with a torrential downpour that looked to threaten the very safety of the players on the field!  Everyone in the stadium seemed to hold their collective breaths and scream at the same time!  The camera’s panned from the players standing in the quickly growing puddles on the field, to the drenched fans in the stands, to the home plate umpire who had the sole responsibility of the decision to delay the game or not.  Due to a Major League ruling that championship games have to be played through the ninth inning, the game would have to be resumed after the rain subsided if the umpire stopped play.  

Then to make matter’s worse, the Giants manager Bruce Bochy decided that he needed to make a pitching change because he wasn’t comfortable with the current pitcher/batter scenario.  With that, the plate umpire came out to the mound and the grounds crew ran out to the infield to see if they could make some amends to forestall the lake that was beginning to form around the bases.  The crowd continued to scream and I am sure that everyone watching from the warmth and dryness of their living rooms sat on the edge of their couches (as my wife and I did) and waited to see what happened next.  Then the plate umpire turned to the Giants bullpen and motioned repeatedly for the new pitcher to come to the mound.  At that point we all knew that it was finish the game or drown, but this game was not going into a rain delay!

And if you had your TV’s tuned into the fox network last night and/or saw the morning paper today, then you know the conclusion to the game.  Sergio Romo, the Giants closer caused the batter to pop up and the Giants won the National League Pennant for the second time within three years!  The players on the field ran, danced and yelled in elation and the fans went wild!  The funny part is that no one seemed to notice the downpour that had not let up!  A crew quickly came out and set up a platform and a few moments later the awards presentation began, in the torrential rainfall, with all the dignitaries, owners, coaches and players and their families standing around with soaking wet hair and dripping clothes and everyone just had big smiles on their faces!

All that rain, laughter and mirth got me to thinking some more about the rain of God’s love upon the lives of us, His children.  It was fun to see those thousands of adults acting like kids last night.  All their inhibitions were set aside and everyone just had a good time!  I think that this is how we as Christians should live our lives 24/7.  If we had the slightest inkling as to the depth of how much our heavenly Father loves us, then I believe that we would find ourselves living a happier life, with a better attitude and as better examples to those around us.

Colossians 2:13 says that “You were once dead because of your failures and your uncircumcised natures.  But God made you alive with Christ when he forgave all our failures.”  (God’s Word ©)  Think about that for a moment.  When you became a Christian God forgave you of all your failures.  The Greek word translated “ALL” in that verse means just what it says, “all, any, every, the whole, thoroughly.” (Strong’s G3956)  John Gill in his Exposition of the Entire Bible comments that “forgiveness of sins (or failures as the God’s Word translation puts it) is not done by piecemeal, or at different times, or by divers acts, but is done at once and includes sins past, present and to come…”  In other words, stop thinking about your failures in life!  If God has forgiven and forgotten them, then so should you.  And on top of that, don’t let the fear of failure stop you from moving on in life, from possibly taking a risk because God loves you so much that He took care of the failure problem when you got saved!  

Wow!  My eyes were opened today to the width, length, height and depth of His love for us as I read that verse and others like it this morning!  His love goes way beyond what we understand or see in the world around us. (Ephesians 3:18-19)  He loves us when we are right and when we are wrong!  He loves us when we are up and when we are down.  His love for us never changes.  If we could see a physical manifestation of His love I think we would have a view just like the millions of viewers who watched the Giants and Cardinals play in that torrential rain storm last night.  At one point is was so strong that it looked as though someone had placed a foggy filter over the lenses of the cameras broadcasting the event!  That is the atmosphere that you and I, as believers, walk in ALL THE TIME!

 So, dwell on that thought today!  Walk in the downpour of His love and be happy as you drip on everyone, everywhere you go!  Have a special day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”