So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. (Romans 1:1-2 NLT)

It was the spring of 1960. Ten-year-old Jimmy had saved his paper route money to buy a coveted baseball mitt he’d been eyeing for weeks. Nearly every day, he rode his bike to Lloyd Center, the  shopping center near his home, and looked at the mitts on display at his favorite shop, Toyland. Finally, he had $5.00–enough to buy that mitt–a left-handed one for first base, the usual position he played in Little League. There it was! It fit his hand perfectly, like it was made just for him. And then he turned over the glove to check the price: $5.99. He’d saved his money for weeks and only had $5. What to do? He looked at some of the other mitts, but he really wanted this one. Then he spied another mitt with the price tag of $4.99. Jimmy looked around and didn’t see anyone and switched the tags. They didn’t have bar codes in those days, just a sticky white square displaying the price. “Four ninety nine!” the sales clerk said. Jimmy handed over his dollar bills. “Here you go,” the clerk said as he placed the mitt in a bag and gave him the penny change.

Jimmy carefully placed the mitt on the back of his bicycle and rode home. But instead of being excited about the purchase, he began to feel very guilty. Every time he used the mitt at practice it worked really well, but there was always this cloud of guilt surrounding it. I wish I’d never done that, he thought. Years passed but Jimmy–now called Jim, never forgot that act. As an adult he told himself he’d just go back to the store and give them the extra dollar he owed, but the store was no longer there.

We all have things in our past that we regret. Usually, we know when we’ve done wrong. Jim certainly did. What do we do when we carry that weight the Bible calls sin? We can ignore it and pretend it’s ok. After all, he was just a ten year old kid. Instead, if it is all possible, correct the problem. If not, then go to God with the sin problem. He absolutely forgives.

Years later, Jim professed his faith in Jesus Christ. He invited him to enter his life and make him a new person. Christ did just that. He entered his life, forgave his sins, and is helping him through the years until he meets him in eternity.

Since that time, Jim still slips and makes errors in word or deed–sins–but he has been forgiven of those past sins–like changing the price on the baseball mitt. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” Romans 3:23-24. Jim has Christ living in him and that helps him do what’s right. 

As you hear in the song below, the opportunity is yours, too.

It looks like a glorious day today, here in SW Washington state. Spring is coming! Baseball too. Enjoy.

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