The Racketball Court

Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that I wanted to tell you a story.

Many years ago I used to go with a friend over to the local college to play racquetball in the evenings. He was attending school there at the time so we got to use the courts for free with me signed in as his guest. I really enjoyed this game although when I first started I was terrible at it. It’s incredible how fast this game is.

I have read that the exit velocity for a baseball when hit by a batter is approximately 100 miles per hour. I think one of the fastest pitches in baseball was about 105 mph. In racquetball, a serve can hit between 150 and 200 miles per hour! It looks like a complete blur when it’s coming at you at that speed. He was so good he used to pound me with Aces for an hour. I couldn’t even manage to get a racket on the ball that first week.

One thing I learned back then that I’ve never forgotten, is that when you hit the ball hard on the serve, it would return to you at roughly the same velocity. For each action on that racquetball court there was an equal reaction off the wall.

As I look back now it reminds me of the Christian Life. The amount that we love others is proportional according to how much grace and forgiveness you have received from the Lord Jesus Christ. If you’ve been forgiven for a lot of things, it results in a lot of love.

Luke 7:36-50

³⁶ And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.

³⁷ And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,

³⁸ And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

³⁹ Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

⁴¹ There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

⁴² And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

⁴³ Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

⁴⁴ And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

⁴⁵ Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

⁴⁶ My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

⁴⁷ Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

⁴⁸ And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

⁴⁹ And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

So the question is today, who loves the Lord the most? As the Lord clearly teaches, it’s the one to whom much has been forgiven.

The harder you hit the ball on the racquetball court it’s going to bounce back at roughly the same intensity. It’s so very similar to the Christian faith because the more you are forgiven by Christ, the more acts of charity that you perform towards Him and His name. It results in loving works. Remember faith without works is dead. Loving works towards Christ are the result of grace that is effectually working in a person’s heart

For example we can look at the life of the Apostle Paul who wrote a major part of the Christian New Testament that we have today. He once was a Jewish leader and a Pharisee who was persecuting the Christian church. Later he realized the truth in Christ Jesus and God forgive him for his sins.

The Apostle Paul called himself the chief of sinners but look at His great love for the Lord when God forgave him for his past. God transformed the chief of sinners into one of the chief writers of the New Testament! Look at his works of love towards the Lord that were a direct result of Gods grace and mercy in his life. We cannot earn our salvation by works and deeds alone apart from Christ, but loving works are truly a result of a forgiven heart as this woman in this passage had.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10 – For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Take it from our beloved Apostle Paul, lots of forgiveness results in lots of loving works towards our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s think about those things for today and Lord willing I’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤

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