Third Base Coach

“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”
– Colossians 3:2

I have played softball for several years, and one thing all of my coaches have stressed to us is that we MUST keep our eyes on them when running the bases, especially when running to third. When running towards third base, you had better be watching the coach. She was never hard to pick out. She was the one right beside the base, jumping up and down, waving her arms and screaming like a lunatic. All of her enthusiastic waving and yelling had a purpose, which was to tell you one of two things. If she was franticly pointing at third base with both hands, it meant “get here ASAP and STAY HERE.” If she was waving you towards her with one hand, and using the other to point towards home plate, it meant “get here ASAP, turn the corner, and KEEP GOING.” If she waved one of us home, and we were tagged out at home plate, she never got mad.

But the quickest way to make her angry (and find yourself on the bench) was to look back over your shoulder to see who had the ball, and find out how close the play would be. She didn’t want us looking around the field, making base-running decisions for ourselves. She knew each of our running abilities, and she was going to be responsible for making the judgment call on whether or not we could make it. Our job was to run with all the energy we could muster, and do whatever her ridiculous hand motions told us to do. When running from second to third, your focus was on her, and nothing else. That’s the way we should be in life. We should live our lives as if we’re running towards third base, and never take our eyes off the coach. Because even the quickest glance over the shoulder to survey our surroundings can cause us to trip and make a mess of things, and miss what He had planned for us.

Who is your third base coach? Who do you focus on when you need guidance and advice? When you need to know whether to keep going or stay put? Is it a parent? A spouse? A close friend? Understand that no one other than Jesus could or should ever fill this role. Let your family and friends cheer you on from the bleachers. You need to focus on your Coach. He knows what is best for you and will give you clear instruction about what you need to do, as long as you keep your focus on Him.