Frozen Snowball

Read: Hebrews 12:25-13:6

Since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God. --Hebrews 12:28

Baseball pitcher Tug McGraw had a wonderful philosophy of pitching. He called it his "frozen snowball" theory. "If I come in to pitch with the bases loaded," Tug explained, "and heavy hitter Willie Stargell is at bat, there's no reason I want to throw the ball. But eventually I have to pitch. So I remind myself that in a few billion years the earth will become a frozen snowball hurtling through space, and nobody's going to care what Willie Stargell did with the bases loaded!"

We know, of course, that the Bible tells us the earth will someday "melt with fervent heat" (2 Pet. 3:10). Yet McGraw's point is valid: We need to keep life in perspective. Many things we worry about have no eternal significance.

The writer to the Hebrews was concerned about our perspective. Throughout the letter, our eyes are turned away from earth and toward heaven. Unless we are people whose minds are on heaven, we will be of no good on earth.

There will come a time when the earth will be shaken, and things that once seemed permanent will be gone (Heb. 12:27). What you fear most today will be forgotten like yesterday's headlines. What matters most is what you do today that has a touch of eternity about it. --HWR