Run to Second – You’re Safe

I’d never make it in the big leagues. I have zero skills as a a baseball player.

But I also have this weakness: I’d be too scared to leave first base to steal second.

Baseball players have to be able to take chances. In pitching, batting, fielding. And as I read Hebrews 10:8-10, I’m reminded that they also have to be brave to leave first to run to second.

Just ask Rickey Henderson.

When First Things Aren’t Enough

Rickey Henderson is considered one of the most exciting players in baseball (he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009).

And it’s not because he played it safe.

What did Rickey do that we can learn from?

First, let’s look at our next three verses in our study of Hebrews 10, #OnceForAll.

8  When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law),
9  then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
10  And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 10:8-10

Here we see that the first things—sacrifices and offerings—weren’t enough to make us holy.

It took the second thing—Jesus—to close the deal. “He does away with the first in order to establish the second” (Hebrews 10:9).

Take Your Foot Off First

But it’s not always easy to give up the first things, the things we know, the things we’re comfortable with.

• We feel safe surrounded by the things we already grasp.
• We find refuge in following set rules.
• We are satisfied knowing what to believe without knowing how to apply it.

Why would we discard our security blanket to run to higher ground?

Because until we take our foot off first, we’ll never run to second.

That’s what Rickey Henderson did so well. He currently holds the record for most stolen bases and runs in Major League Baseball. He was successful in stealing bases exactly 1,406 times in his career, earning the nickname the “Man of Steal.”

But there is always a risk. A player who tries to steal a base can be picked off or thrown out. Then instead of putting your team in scoring position, you hurt them by adding another out.

Yet to make no progression forward hurts the team even more.

As maturing believers in Christ, we have to be willing to move on to the better thing, to Jesus himself, instead of clinging to baby steps we might have learned as a child or when we were brand new to the faith. Not that those principles were wrong, but they were only milk. Jesus is solid food (Hebrews 5:13-14).

The grand scope of the Bible shows us the progression forward, as we read in Hebrews 10. The old covenant was the first step in God saving His people.

But the new covenant, the offering of Jesus, was the permanent order. This is the once-for-all place we want to be. It was his plan all along, as Jaime writes here.

3 Ways to Move to Second Things

How can we grow from first things to second things?

1. Learn from the first thing to propel you to the second.

When a baseball player makes it to first base, he doesn’t relax and take a seat. He stays engaged. He’s alert to the next person at bat, to the next pitch, to the base coach. He doesn’t want to stay at first; he wants to progress to second.

We, too, can learn from first things, without staying there. For example, the Old Testament scriptures are here for our learning. We can use them to increase our fuller understanding of God’s plan for salvation, and to better appreciate the completion of the plan in Jesus Christ.

2. Start with behaviors but grow into love.

Young children in Little League baseball and softball first learn the basics: how to hit, where to run, how to catch. But learning the rules is only part of the game. The truly passionate baseball players, the ones that stay with the game for years to come, fall in love with it.

When we first came to know Christ, maybe we were similar to the Little League players. We valued obedience to the rules above all. We checked the boxes of Bible reading, church attendance, financial offerings. But as we grew in faith, our motives grew beyond mere obedience into a genuine love for God.

Love is what keeps us engaged in the game for eternity.

3. Use your skills but don’t depend solely on them.

While the best baseball players need to be coordinated, quick, and aggressive, they also have to rely on the help of others to be truly successful. Each player need constructive feedback from their coaches, coordination from managers, advice from other players.

As children of God, we’ve each been gifted with a set of skills, too. They may serve us well and help us honor God. But our success doesn’t depend on what we do alone; we need our community to keep us straight.

And our ultimate deliverance comes solely from Jesus. Once we willingly give up our survival instinct for self-preservation, we see we’re safest when we throw ourselves into the arms of Jesus.

Make It Home

It happened in the fourth inning on May 1, 1991. The Oakland Athletics were playing the New York Yankees at the Oakland Coliseum.

Rickey Henderson of the A’s got on first base, then advanced to second on a single. To progress to the next base, he didn’t wait for a hit. He sped off second and stole third, breaking Lou Brock’s old record of 938 stolen bases.

He pulled the base itself out of the ground, lifted it above his head in celebration, and waved to the crowd as he received a standing ovation.

[watch it here]

Rickey didn’t just play baseball. He loved baseball. It was in his blood.

As we step off first base to run to second, let’s do so knowing that once we get there, we’re now home-free. No more base running is necessary. Christ has done it once for all.

Christ’s blood is now in ours.

Welcome to the big leagues. You’re safe here.

You’ve made it home.

Are you a risk-taker? Please share your thoughts in the comments.