Blog: Max Dawson
October 8, 2015
It was one of the great times in life. It was the fall of 1956. The air was crisp and cool that morning as Bill Bennett and I walked to Public School 57 in Indianapolis. We were in the eighth grade. The leaves had turned bright yellow and orange. My friend and I had to wear jackets that morning because the temperature had dipped into the 40s overnight.
I was in love. But not with Marianne Goodwin who sat next to me in English class. Though it would have been easy to have a crush on her. My love was directed across the street from school 57 at Bill Kuhn Chevrolet. After school that day, Bill and I planned to walk across Washington Street to take another look at the 1957 Chevys. They had just come out a few weeks earlier. We couldn’t get enough of them. Which car was sweeter? Was it the new Bel-Air hardtop, or the ’57 Corvette convertible?
But that Monday would be a very special day. It was on that day, October 8, 1956, that Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history. It was game five of the series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The game was played in the daytime, but we were able to get updates that afternoon at school. One of the teachers had a radio in his classroom and runners were sent from our class to his room every 10 or 15 minutes to get the latest score. It was 27 batters up and 27 batters down on that perfect day for Don Larsen. The game only lasted two hours and six minutes.
Larsen’s overall major league record was a rather weak 81-91 win-loss tally. After the game, Larsen said, “Last night I was a bum. Today everybody wants to talk to me.” How quickly things can change in a man’s life!
A perfect game in the world series! Larsen never came close to anything like that again.
Perfection is rarely attained in any discipline in life. Who among us is perfect when we drive our cars on the highway? Who is perfect in their occupation, never making any mistake. What preacher is perfect, never stumbling over his words? What cook is perfect, never burning the food or getting the dish too salty. Perfection rarely comes in anything.
Jesus is the exception. He wasn’t just perfect on one October afternoon. He lived a perfect life throughout his 33 years. He never sinned–never! He never did anything wrong. He could honestly say “I always do those things that please My Father” (see John 8:29). That’s right; He always did right; He always pleased God. 1 Peter 2:22 speaks of Jesus…
“Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.”
It was this sinless perfection that made it possible for Him to be our Savior. He became a sin sacrifice for us. It was the righteous Jesus who died for unrighteous me. It was the just being sacrificed for the unjust. Jesus. Perfect. Sinless. Savior.
A FINAL WORD
Sinless perfection is not a phrase to use in describing you or me. That’s why we needed a Savior. Sinless perfection is something we do not attain even after we become Christians. That’s why John says what he does in 1 John 1:
8-9.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Do you have remorse and regret when you have committed a sin? That’s good. You ought to feel that way. But don’t give up. You will not reach sinless perfection in this life. We may disappoint ourselves, be frustrated with our failures, and even wonder how God could love us with our shortcomings.
But the fact is, He does love us and cares about us. And He forgives us when we come to Him and plead for forgiveness. Be comforted in His forgiveness. Believe what He says when He promises to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Blessings to you, beloved! Bask in the blessings of God’s love.!
–MAX