I used the following sermon illustration recently, and think it was helpful (my first ever sports analogy used in a sermon!):
Imagine the following:
Two baseball teams agree to play a game together and are all set for the opening pitch. To the surprise and shock of everyone, the first batter strolls up to home plate dressed in a tennis outfit rather than a baseball uniform! The player declares in a bold and confident voice, ‘I have decided that I don’t want to wear a baseball uniform, but it is better for me that I wear this more comfortable outfit. Also, I am going to use this cricket bat (which is at least twice as wide as a baseball bat) rather than a regular baseball bat. Moreover, I expect to receive 5 strikes instead of 3, I will be running to third base instead of first, and all of the fielders are required to close their eyes while I am at bat. I believe that is fair, right for me, and will allow me to achieve the most happiness and success in my time here today.’
Expecting to receive an understanding response and compliance with his requests, the baseball player is shocked when hears the crowd and opposite team burst out in a roar of laughter and astonishment at his requests. ‘That is absurd,’ declares a young child in the stands. ‘You are a fool!’ shouts the umpire, ‘That is not how the game of baseball works!’ Another person comes up and tells him, ‘You have no right to redefine the rules of baseball, and cannot expect us to follow your distorted understanding how things should be.’ The player is astounded by the lack of tolerance in the crowd and opposite team; to his surprise, everyone understood him to be a fool without any authority to make the claims he thought so sensible and prudent.
As absurd as this sounds, we all do the same thing with God as we reject his authority, words, and moral standards. We live our lives the way we want to live them–spurning God’s authority. We believe that we are wiser than God and should create our own standards–rejecting what God’s wisdom. We make up our own rules for how to get to heaven–ignoring what God’s standards and solution for our tragic state. All of these things are done in spite of the fact that we live in God’s world, we are God’s creation, and only God has the right to make the rules and declare how we ought to live. If do not turn from our folly and embrace Christ as the Lord and only Redeemer, we also will be a fool without authority.
Photo Credit: Bugsy Sailor via Compfight cc
