Yogi Berra had a unique outlook on baseball and life in general.  The former Yankees catcher and later the manager of the New York Mets, made some memorable comments before he passed away in 2015.  One of the ones that struck me as being more than just humorous was “In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be.”  Our world is certainly far from perfect.  All you have to do, is follow the news,visit a hospital, plant a garden or watch a pet raised in the wild.

God’s Created World

When I think of all that God created, I realize that He made perfectly.  Nothing was imperfect.  31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.  1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done… 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.…(Genesis 1:31-2:2)

Man’s Flawed World

As a consequence, 16 Then he said to the woman,“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” 17 And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you.  All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.  18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains.  19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made.  For you were made from dust,and to dust you will return.”  (Genesis 3:16-19)  God’s perfect creature, Man, was made to live forever.  Now, because of sin, he would die and return to dust.

The Return to Perfection

Yet, there is hope for each and every one of us.  17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God… 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”…5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:1-5)

God will walk among His followers  just as He did in the Garden of Eden. and as for Jerusalem itself, it will be  coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 12 It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall.  15 The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. 17 And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.  18 The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.……21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. (Revelations 21:1-21)  The description given to John goes continues with immeasurable beauty and peace.  And, best of all, God, the Father, Son, and Spirit will be there to light our way.

One man, Adam, lost perfection for all of us, and one man, Jesus, gave us a new hope that we will return to perfection.  Adam’s on rule was to not eat of the fruit of the tree of life.  Our one rule is accept and follow the Son of God.  Heaven awaits!

Yogi-isms

While our world may not be perfect, God gives us many opportunities to enjoy our time here.  Here a few more quotes from Yogi Berra  Humor is one of the gifts God has allowed us to keep.  Sometimes it is the only thing that can keep us from losing faith and allowing ourselves to drift away from God.  These are only a few of his humorous quotes.  He had many more.  Google them to find even more.

On his approach to at-bats: “You can’t think and hit at the same time.”  On selecting a restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.  “On economics: “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”  On the 1973 Mets: “We were overwhelming underdogs.”  On how events sometimes seem to repeat themselves “It’s deja vu all over again!”  On baseball attendance: “If people don’t come to the ballpark, how are you gonna stop them?”  On a slipping batting average: “Slump? I ain’t in no slump. … I just ain’t hitting.”  On travel directions: “When you come to a fork in the road take it.”  On pregame rest: “I usually take a two-hour nap from 1 to 4.  “On battling the shadows in left field at Yankee Stadium: “It gets late early out there.  On fan mail: “Never answer an anonymous letter.  On being told            he looked cool: “You don’t look so hot yourself.”  On being asked what time it was: “You mean now?”  On being given a day in his honor: “Thank you for making this day necessary.   On a spring training drill: “Pair off in threes.”  On his approach to playing baseball: “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”  On death: “Always go to other people’s funerals. Otherwise they won’t go to yours.”