From the ages of 5-12 in our neighborhood kickball ruled. It was the
standard by which you were known, either to be a captain or called last when
choosing teams. And even though we played it at school, the rules were
different at home on our street. We had no playground outside of the school, so
the street was it, which made for some interesting ground rules. Manhole covers
were home plate, sewer drains the bases, and telephone poles marked the out of
bounds. At the end of our street was a big circle, using Richie’s fence as the
foul pole, and a telephone pole for the left field line. In between if you
could reach it, over the curb was a home run. Careful not to get in Crawford’s
yard, he would keep the ball and game over. Further down the street we had to
keep the ball in bounds, yards were out, and the same in front of my house,
except we used filled in potholes for bases. We all knew the rules, we didn’t
cheat because we didn’t want to get caught, kickball ruled. But just one street
up, were even more ground rules, as a telephone pole was first base, second base
a long run to the manhole, and third base the end of the fence. We played, kept
inside the rules, and had fun. Imagine that!
Football season brought new challenges, as we came up with a new set of
rules, anything off the pavement was out of bounds, and where three completions
got you a first down anywhere else, we used lines of demarcation for first
downs, the end of the fence, Corriss’s driveway, and an old tree. With
telephone poles the imaginary goal line. Many a measurement was eyeballed for a
first down, and rather than argue, we had the option of calling do-over.
Running bases on pavement made it interesting, with short distances and longer
ones based on how far the manhole cavers were apart. We quickly learned the
shorter ones were more fun.
Rarely did we use yards, but for wiffle ball Scottie’s back yard ruled, and
for tackle it did too, and when combined with the neighbor’s yard in this age of
no fences, it made for some long touchdown runs. We had few rules, we played to
have fun and win, and without parental interference, or too many rules, we had
fun. We were kids.....and then we grew up. Why did we ever do that?
When Barney Fife told us the Mayberry Jail rules on a tour, “the first rule
is to obey all rules,” maybe we should have stopped there. But with more
rules, there are more rules to remember, and more rules to break. Even the NFL,
that supreme being of rules, has trouble defining what is a catch and what
isn’t. On the street we knew, you dropped it, it wasn’t. But with rules come
more rules, and with more rules, our sin gets a bigger chance to show off. The
Pharisees were well known for having a sense of righteousness by keeping all the
Mosaic laws, over 600 of them. How to wash to eat, after you bumped into an
infidel. How to show off when giving, how to do this or that. A rigid
lifestyle devoid of joy, because someone was always watching and ready to pounce
on you if you failed. A great example of no freedom in legalism, which we all
fall into from time to time. In society we need rules because we aren’t as
smart as we were as kids playing kickball, so some live by the Ten Commandments,
given by God to Moses on tablets of stone. Six for dealing with man, four for
dealing with God, we should have seen then it was easier to deal with God. But
the TC as great as they were and are, have no salvation in them. No way to be
forgiven, they just tell us how to live, not what to do when we screw up. It
was up to judges to interpret, and even instant replay hasn’t made it any
easier. So God sent his son, Jesus...
Who gave us an easy law, so simple we can remember it. Love God first,
then your brother as yourself. We all screw up, the only prerequisite for
mercy, and he offers it. He forgives, and we are to forgive others as he does.
But who is my brother? Or how many times do I forgive? Anyone you meet
qualifies to be forgiven, and Peter learned that being forgiven 70x7 still is
not enough. God forgives all, we should too, with no reservations. But this
love part can mess up the sequence...and it does. If we are to love others as
ourselves, we need to love ourselves, and outside of Jesus we cannot. And the
key to that love is forgiveness. We love being forgiven by Jesus, we forgive
others, but we have a problem forgiving ourselves, so we cannot love ourself,
and we cannot love others as we should. Jesus set the example, so simple, yet
we make rules, laws, legends, religious dogma, and denominational rules that
make it hard. Isn’t following Jesus much easier?
Even as kids playing ball we knew the rules, and kept it simple. If it
worked for kickball, why can’t it work in life? Maybe just trying to forgive,
to accept a do over, a way of forgiveness, to play to win, but realizing that
tomorrow is another game, win or lose. Everyday we chose up new teams, today
sign on with Jesus. Play ball within the lines not because you have to, but
because you want to. Play to win, fairly, be a gracious loser and winner, and
treat others as you want to be treated. Simple then, simple now. We knew which
neighbor and yards to avoid then, we do now too. Play and live in grace, and
enjoy the game of life more. Know the out of bounds, where the bases are, and
have fun. For what good is fun if you don’t enjoy it? Maybe that is why Jesus
told us to come as little kids to him. We got it then, but lost it as adults.
There may not be a fountain of youth, and we may get older, we don’t have to get
old and grow up. Kickball was more than a game then....I’m glad I know that
now. Back then, we were just having fun....
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com
