Monday Morning Devotion-July 25, 2016
Batting Rocks
As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the giant on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground." 1 Samuel 17:48,49.
At the age of ten I was the owner and manager of a baseball team. I was also a player and a radio play-by-play broadcaster of the games. Now before you say, "Wow, what was he a child prodigy?" The answer is "no, just a kid with a vivid imagination."
You see I invented this game called "batting rocks." I was in love with the game of baseball and my little brother was nine years younger than me and there were no other kids around to play with on that red clay hill in Macon, GA. So I had to create my own entertainment. Hence, I came up with the game of batting rocks. Here's how it went.
Each morning I would grab the newspaper (The Macon Telegraph), go straight to the sports page and check out the box score of our local minor league team, the Macon Peaches.
Taking the paper with me to the front yard I would go out in the street, the ditches and the fields and collect a bunch of rocks…of all sizes. Didn't matter, they would serve as baseballs.
I would take them back to the yard, put them by the newspaper so I could follow the lineups, grab my sawed off broom handle (which served as a bat) and the game would begin. I became the pitcher, hitter, and broadcaster as I recreated last night's game.
I would throw the ball, uh rock, up and as it came down hit it out into my make believe, early version of the "Field of Dreams." I would broadcast wherever the ball, uh rock, went as my imaginary players (representing the real ones) made the plays, circled the imaginary bases, etc. I must admit that when a Macon player was up I swung a little harder at the ball.
Since I owned the whole deal I could have acted as owner and made some killer trades. I could have traded with the Jacksonville Tars for a guy named Hank Aaron or the Columbia Reds for Ted Kluszewki. Who knew how those guys would turn out? I had to keep it somewhat real anyway.
I'm just saying that "rocks" played a role in my early childhood development and in some ways paved the way for my future as a broadcaster and sports writer.
Rocks have had a role in Bible characters as well. Now in some places they are called rocks and some they are called stones. So I decided to look up the difference between a rock and a stone. I wish I hadn't. Who knew that geologists could go into such detail about the difference between a rock and a stone? I don't really care about the difference. Hey those make-believe baseballs I had were rocks I don't care what the geologists say.
Basically, after you wade through all the scientific explanations of the differences. I think what it boils down to is: rocks are larger and rougher than stones which are generally smaller and smoother.
I remember old Dave Gardner, the comedian who did a skit about David and Goliath and when playing David's part he would say that David reached down into something that looked like a coin purse and said, "Where's my smooth, flat slick river rock." Now that's what he hit the giant with. But the scripture says, "taking out a stone David slung it and hit Goliath."
Although sometimes rock and stone are interchangeable because the website www.differencebetween.net points out "Rocks are made of smaller stones and stones are made from rocks." Huh?
David B. Williams says on-line at www.geologywriter.com. Paraphrasing his thoughts, there are two situations where stone and rock cannot be substituted for one another. The first is where somebody is stoned to death (like the martyr Stephen). In these situations somebody would be "stoned with stones. You can't stone them with rocks. Nor can you rock them with rocks" (unless I guess you are a rock star).
One of the more common uses of the term rock is for Jesus as the "rock of our salvation."
Remember the lyrics; "On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand."
("The Solid Rock" by Edward Mote, 1834).
Jesus asked his disciples who people said he was. Peter answered: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus was pleased that Simon Peter got it. He responded; "Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it" (Matthew 16: 16-18).
Nelson's Bible Dictionary makes these distinctions between rock and stone. "Stone was a hardened, granite-like mass formed from soil, clay and minerals." It goes on to point out that city walls, houses, temples, courtyards, columns and streets were built of hewn stone."
There was such an abundance of stones that they were also used as weapons, throwing them at their enemy, also knives were made from flint stones. Larger weapons like slings and bows used stones.
Stones were used for sacred purposes. Memorials used stones to mark an unusual event and stone mounds were used to mark gravesites.
The word rock is often used figuratively in the Bible. At various places Rock describes the God and Christ as Creator; His people's strength; their defense and refuge; salvation; and cornerstone of the church.
It doesn't matter if we refer to them as rocks or stones. In Biblical terms they are significant. In troubled times it is important to remember that Christ is our solid rock.
And if you are playing an imaginary game of baseball for entertainment or even to build a career on don't confuse a rock with a stone because the game is called "batting rocks."
Prayer: Lord we thank you for rocks and stones and all of your gifts that we use to build a solid Christian life. Amen!
***author's note: Have a blessed week!