A number of years ago, Jim Kaat, a star pitcher for the Minnesota Twins baseball team, was asked by a sportswriter what it meant to be a Christian and a professional athlete. Kaat answered by relating an experience that had taken place on the pitcher's mound a couple of weeks earlier.

It was at the end of a crucial game—a game the Twins needed to win if they were to have a chance at the league championship. Kaat needed to get only one more batter out and the Twins would win the game. He said that as he prepared to throw the ball the thought went through his mind, I'm sure glad my destiny isn't riding on this next pitch!

As Christians, we have a similar assurance. When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are born again into the forever family of God. At that moment we are given an eternal inheritance that can never "fade away, reserved in heaven" for us. Furthermore, Peter assured us that we are "kept by the power of God" (1 Peter 1:5). God will guard our souls to the end. So, we may live freely as children of God, having a bold confidence rooted in the character and word of our heavenly Father.

Our destiny is not riding on the next "pitch" we make. Through faith, it is forever fixed in heaven.    — David H. Roper