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Last weekend the Yankees came to town. The hubbub was over Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod to the initiated), the 252-million-dollar player the Rangers traded away to New York, who was making his first appearance at the Rangers' stadium since the trade. All this reminded me of my one trip to the ballpark last season. It was the Fourth of July and our missionary staff and IFC leaders made our annual pilgrimage to the Ballpark at Arlington to watch the Texas Rangers take on the Seattle Mariners.

The Ballpark at Arlington, which took only 23 months to complete, opened April 1, 1994, April Fools Day, at a cost of 191 million dollars. With a capacity of 49,178, that put the cost of the plastic seat I sat in right at $3,883. Alex Rodriquez made $22,000,000 last season, and had 607 at bats, which works out to $36,244 for every trip to the plate. He came up to bat, as I recall, four times in that game, which means he provided us with $144,975 worth of entertainment. Up there on the third level in my nosebleed seat, I somehow missed all that fun. It just never made it up that high.

For me, the best play of the game was not made by any of the players on the field, but by a bird, a Purple Martin, which was taking advantage of the hundreds of kilowatts of light power generated by the bank of lights just over our heads. The Martin is the fighter jet of the bird world, darting and swooping skillfully as it catches its dinner in mid-air. At one point, along about the fifth inning, right after A-Rod struck out, my attention was drawn to a bug suspended in front of me, its gyrating wings backlit by the glare of the stadium lights. I kept my eyes on the creature, not wanting to miss what was surely to follow. I did not have to wait long. The Martin made another pass, and suddenly—no more bug.

That was high drama. The millions spent on the stadium and the teams were no match for the tiny miracle that took place in front of me. Both the bird and the bug were fulfilling their purpose on this old earth. The swallow was doing her job of clearing the air of bugs and feeding her family, and the bug fulfilled his role by taking his place in the food chain. And they provided me with a world of entertainment. The goings on at the ballpark no longer held my attention as I thought of the power of the mind of God, that all things were made by him and for him, and that, in the words of Annie Dillard, the Creator loves pizzazz. That was worth the trip to the Ballpark at Arlington.

The Psalmist declares,"How many are your works, O Lord!In wisdom you made them all;The Earth is full of your creatures." Psalm 104:24

In this hymn of praise, a poetic reflection on the creation account of Genesis, chapter one, the Psalmist recounts all that God has made and breaks into a doxology of praise.

"I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.May my meditation be pleasing to him, As I rejoice in the Lord. . .Praise the Lord, O my soul.Praise the Lord." Psalm 104:33, 35

I have to admit that I did not anticipate a worship experience at a baseball game. But there, in the third deck, surrounded by the noise and lights of a ball game, I was reminded of the creative power of my Heavenly Father.

Written by: Jonathan Edwards