• Originally published July 9, 2009 at midnight, updated July 10, 2009 at 1:35 p.m.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that, too, God will make clear to you. (Phil. 3:12-15)

"Let him steal, coach. Let him steal," all my Little Leaguers yelled at me.

His name was Alfred, but all the kids called him Mickey Mouse because of his big ears and perpetual smile. He was placed on my team by well-meaning adults because of his age. After the first day, I called his dad over and explained that I was going to have to screen him to a younger program because of coordination problems and his own safety.

His father came back the next day and asked if we would keep him on our team and work with him even if he couldn't play him in the games. My team had adopted him and wouldn't let me say no. I never anticipated the blessing that followed.

The team was young and needed a lot of work, so I had little or no time to spend on the lad. The kids took him under their wing and worked with him daily. His hand-eye coordination and sense of direction improved, and by the last game of the year, they begged me to let him pinch run in the last inning. I put him in the game.

Our team did well for a rebuilding year, but now had developed leadership skills far beyond their young age because of this situation. Maturity is what every good coach strives for in a team in any sport. Maturity makes the game slow down in the eyes and mind of the players, as they understand it better. Not so much a team ran by a coach, but a thinking unit, capable of making their own decisions well.

In Paul's letter to the Phillippians, he links a call to maturity in life with a call to maturity in faith. The road to maturity is the route from fear to faith. Those who just sit in the church pews week after week are not striving for the goal of Christian maturity. We need to leave the pew for action straining forward to what lies ahead. It may sound simple, but the call is not just for the young. Older people who have not matured in faith need to reach upward to that goal also.

What goal? The upward call of God in Jesus Christ. Christianity is a movement, not a condition. God has given all different gifts to grow. Without finding and exercising those gifts, many will go from babes to senility as immature Christians.

Oh, yes, Mickey Mouse stole second base. You would have thought we won the championship. The kids were screaming and slapping him on the back. They had a right to be happy. They made the little guy's year, and in the process, had grown far beyond their years in knowledge and understanding of the game. That team was able to survive unfair treatment by adult leaders the following year, then bounced right back and won a championship anyway.

We can look forward to a fuller life of faith and obedience because of our hope in Christ. Growth in Christ never stops and looks around. To mature in Christ is to grow right up to the harvest. Amen.

Charles Placker is a licensed minister who writes for the Victoria Advocate.

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