I must confess that I don't follow baseball that much. In fact, I was just thinking the other day that I don't recognize most of the names of the players anymore. I can remember the names of some from the past, names of men that are either in the hall of fame or will be one day.
Even though I don't follow the game much anymore, I do still enjoy going to the ballpark when I can. There's something about watching a game live that totally beats watching it on TV. I've been blessed to visit several MLB ballparks, most special to me being Wrigley Field many years ago.
Anyway, if you follow baseball at all, you know that Derek Jeter of the NY Yankees just hit his 3,000th hit this week. Derek's hit was extra special because he hit a home run to push him over the top of this important goal. But what has made this event even more noticeable is the story surrounding the fan who caught the ball - Christian Lopez.
According to news reports, Christian returned the ball to Jeter the same night he caught it. Rather than keep the ball and sell it to the highest bidder, he returned it. After all, it certainly belonged to Jeter. Some reports even said that the Yankees managment asked Christian how much he wanted for the ball. There are more stories than I can count from the past of how people have taken opportunities like this to cash in big. In fact, some reports estimate that Christian could have received hundreds of thousands of dollars for the ball. Many baseball fans have taken the chance to call this move unwise. Why not sell it and cash in?
The Yankees also showed some class in this event by offering Christian several balls, bats & jerseys signed by Jeter. They also offered Christian and his family some sweet seats for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs.
But I think the award for class clearly goes to Christian Lopez. Way to go for going against the culture and what the world would say is right to truly do something unusual. It reminds me that as Christians, we are to be people that say & do things that are not always consistent with the world we live in. We do that because we love God and desire to follow His leading in our lives. In a similar way, we will often be told we are different, strange, weird, offensive, intolerant, etc. But obedience is always the goal.
I pray for more "Christian's" in the world. Those who are willing to stand up and do what's right, even when the world doesn't understand.
Pastor Randy
