There is no greater gift...
Illustration
There is no greater gift than the gift of life. In the film Field of Dreams, the hero, Ray Kinsella goes on a quest to find the meaning of life through relationships that revolve around the game of baseball. One of those he meets along the way is a ballplayer-turned-doctor, named Archie "Moonlight" Graham. Graham's baseball claim to fame is that he played one half of an inning for the New York Giants in 1905. As the two men discuss Moonlight's abbreviated baseball career, Ray asks if he has any regrets about leaving baseball, having played for only five minutes, to become a doctor. "It would have killed some men to get so close. They'd never do anything else but talk about how close they were." Graham smiles and replies, "If I'd only got to be a doctor for five minutes, that would be a tragedy." God, through Elisha, gave the gift of life to a young child and his mother, who were not Israelites. If Elisha had not given the gift because the child was a Gentile, now that would have been a tragedy. The mission of the church is to proclaim that God, through the Christ, gives people the gift of eternal life. If the church does not proclaim the gospel to those who are not yet members, now that would be a tragedy. -- Joseph
