THE ALMOST PERFECT NIGHT

On a beautiful summer evening eleven years ago, everything was perfect. Until it wasn’t.

Detroit Tigers’ pitcher, Armando Galarraga, was having a phenomenal night on the mound. He had retired 26 of the first 27 batters he faced. The elusive perfect game was one out away and well within reach.

Then the unthinkable happened. 

Veteran umpire, Jim Joyce, incorrectly ruled that the Indians’ batter, Jason Donald, reached first base safely on a ground ball. A disappointed Galarraga finished with a one-hit shutout. Joyce, knowing he blew the call, sincerely apologized to the Tigers’ pitcher.

Minutes after he left the field, reporters asked Galarraga how he felt about Joyce’s mistake. 

(How would you respond in this situation?)

Galarraga simply replied, “Nobody’s perfect. Everybody’s human. I understand.” 

Nobody’s perfect. Two words that sum up the human experience. Like you and me, real people are messy, rough around the edges, and far from flawless.

Chances are, I don’t have to convince you of this. You’re well aware of your imperfections, aren’t you? And for that matter, everyone else’s too.  

Not only that, but each day we’re bombarded by headlines from our far from perfect world.

But don’t miss the underlying, implicit dimension of Galarraga’s response that night- 

Grace. The word means, “undeserved favor or kindness.”

We don’t hear much about grace anymore, especially in the cutthroat society in which we live. The word sounds like an ancient relic from years past, as outdated as a rotary phone. But grace is just as amazing and relevant today as it’s ever been. 

On that nearly perfect night, Galarraga extended grace to the unfortunate umpire.

In fact, both men would be lauded for the way they handled the entire situation: Galarraga, for demonstrating forgiveness and grace. Joyce, for accepting responsibility and owning his mistake. Years later, they would even write a book together aptly titled, Nobody’s Perfect. 

And so, this story brings us face to face with two realities of life-

1. None of us are perfect.
2. We all need grace.

Let’s explore these two fundamental truths.

Continue reading the next chapter, Game of Errors.

A GAME OF ERRORS

Baseball is a game of errors. The seemingly simple, routine play turns out to be well, anything but simple and routine. The 1901 Detroit Tigers hold the not-so-prestigious title of most errors in a single season with 401 (20th-century record). Granted, errors have drastically decreased in today’s era, but there are still plenty of blunders to go around. 

It’s so easy to see the errors in other people, isn’t it? In fact, most of us do it without much hesitation. It helps us to feel better about ourselves. 

But to turn around and honestly look at our own faults? Not so easy. 

Years ago, the London Times ran an article encouraging its readers to respond to the question, “What is wrong with the world?” I am sure the Times editor must have read the following reply more than once before its profound truth sunk in:

“Dear Sir:

In response to your question, ‘What is wrong with the world?’

I am.

Yours truly.’”

We can see the humor in the person’s response, but there’s also a great deal of humility. Taking a closer look, the truth of the words becomes abundantly clear.

We ARE what’s wrong with the world.

The Bible confronts us with this reality, “there’s nobody living right, not even one.  Nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God.” (Romans 3:10).

At first, we might find this startling, even a little offensive. Perhaps we feel like we might be the exception to this verse. But if we’re honest with ourselves, we know we don’t come close to God’s standard of living. 

We’ve all committed our share of “errors.” None of us have lived a perfect game.  Well, except for One Person. 

Jesus. 

Good news for us, His amazing grace is available to all. 

Continue reading the next chapter, What Makes Grace So Amazing.

WHAT MAKES GRACE SO AMAZING?

Let’s review:  Grace. The word means undeserved favor or kindness.

And Jesus, God in the flesh, is the embodiment of grace. 

If we really want to grasp what grace is all about, we must remember that Jesus, the perfect Son of God, died on the cross for us all. 

Because of this, we can come to God as we are: Imperfect.  

This is what makes grace so unbelievably amazing.

So, how do we receive grace?

The first step is honestly admitting our need for grace and facing the root of our problem. While Jesus is the embodiment of grace, he is also the embodiment of truth.

And we must face a hard truth.

You see, it’s not just that we’re not perfect. There’s a deeper issue.

Sin.  

What is sin? Sin is anything that is contrary to the law or will of God.

It might not be the most fun word to talk about, but it is incredibly important to understand. According to the Bible, the playing field is perfectly level. 

All 7 billion of us have the exact same sin dilemma –

“We’ve ALL sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

The Bible teaches us two primary dimensions of sin-

• Missing the mark– Like an arrow failing to hit a target. Or like how Galarraga almost pitched a perfect game. Sin means that we’ll never measure up to the standard of God’s perfect glory.

• Disobedience- When we know something is wrong, and still do it anyway. Or we fail to do something we know is right. 

At its core, sin pridefully rebels against God and insists that we get to make our own rules.  We essentially look at God and say, “I’m going to live my life without You.”

This results in separation from Him. 

What does this mean? It means that each person born into this world is separated from God, doomed to Hell, and will not be allowed to enter Heaven.

This is indeed a hard truth with devastating consequences. But we have to understand the bad news in order to fully appreciate the good news.

So, what in the world do we now?

Continue reading the next chapter, The Answer.

The Answer

Here’s a thought-provoking question:

If God Himself asked you, “Why should I let you into My heaven,” what would you say?

Let that question sink in for a moment.

Now, many people might say something like, “I’m a good person. I help other people. I give to charities. I know I’m not perfect, but I’m not that bad. That should be good enough, shouldn’t it?”

No, being a good person isn’t good enough. You have to come to a point of total surrender, fully embracing what Jesus, the Perfect Son of God, has done for you.   

The Bible makes it clear that getting into heaven isn’t something we can do on our own. Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly teaches, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Don’t miss these 4 keywords: By Grace. Through Faith. This is the only pathway to heaven and peace with God.

Ask yourself– Have I ever truly received the grace of Jesus and placed my faith in Him?

The invitation to eternal life is open to anyone, no matter our past, our bad choices, or how far from God we may feel.

Jesus promised, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16). “Whoever” includes you.

You might be asking, “How can I make this happen in my life? What can I do?”

If you’ve been trusting in your own goodness to get into heaven, today you can place your faith and trust in Jesus and know for certain you will have eternal life. There is no special prayer you must pray, but the following prayer is one you can use to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior.

“Dear God, I realize I am a sinner and could never reach heaven by my own goodness. Only You have the power to save me. Today, right now, I place my faith in Jesus Christ as Your Son who died for my sins and rose from the dead to give me eternal life. Please forgive my sins and help me to live for you. In Jesus’ name…”

You’ve just discovered The Answer!

*Everyone at Right From The Heart is cheering you on and we hope you will let us be a part of your journey with Jesus Christ. If you have prayed to receive Christ as your Savior, please let us know at admin@rfth.org.

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