Earlier in the summer, most of my tomatoes had blossom rot or some blemish on them, and I was getting discouraged. Nonetheless, in recent days the same plants have done a 180 and produced some flawless, perfect tomatoes, at least in my opinion. And that has created a grin on the face of this rookie gardener! And get this, I do not even like to eat tomatoes.

Years ago, some of my ministry colleagues called me the “redneck mystic” because I spend time reflecting on all my life experiences. And in line with that habit, I have spent some time reflecting on those flawless, perfect tomatoes.

My thoughts went to Noah in the Old Testament. Genesis 6:9 declares, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Later, Genesis 6:22 pronounces, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”

Then my thoughts went to Galatians 5:7 and it proclaims, “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” That passage reminded me that like some of my earlier tomatoes, I have some blemishes in my life.

And true to form, my reflection kept expanding and I pulled out some statements that have been true in both history and my life. One statement is “God does not call us to minimums” and another statement is “Direction, not intentions, determines my destination.”

And of course, my reflection took me to the game of baseball. I remember that every time my coach gave me the game ball and sent me to get warm in the bullpen, I wanted to pitch a perfect game that day. I never threw a perfect game but I did through a couple of no-hitters and a handful of shutouts. Nevertheless, each game I sought the perfect game.

My reflection on flawless, perfect tomatoes ended with a renewed desire to pursue a life that is blameless among the people of my time, and a renewed desire to lead a church who will do everything just as God has commanded us. I keep telling myself, “Keep the bar raised high!” And one day, I hope to see a grin on God’s face and hear him say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Let’s play catch! It’s your turn to throw!