I went to bed this morning at 1 AM and woke up at 6 AM, so we will see how this goes. Why was I up so late? Well, after 30 years, the Kansas City Royals major league baseball team had the opportunity to win the World Series and I wasn’t going to miss seeing it. I lived an hour away from the Royals stadium for many years and have been a long-time fan. And in typical Royals fashion, they came from behind to win the title in 12 innings!
After so many years of futility on the field, it has been fun to watch this team scratch and claw its way to the pinnacle of professional baseball. They never lose hope when the situation seems dire. They’re confident they can still win regardless of the circumstances. And they encourage each other to never give up. It sort of reminds me of what this passage commands us to do as followers of Jesus. But, of course, the stakes are much higher.
We who follow Jesus are in the midst of our season and it’s a long, hard one. While there may be moments of celebration, the challenges and struggles make it a grind. That is why we need to function as a team and not just as a group of individuals looking out for ourselves. We need the power of collective hope; the ability to look around in the midst of troubled times and see hopeful faces rather than dire ones. We need the strength to look beyond our present circumstances to give encouragement to our fellow brothers and sisters that much better times are ahead. And we need the humility to know we cannot go this alone. This is, in reality, the Church, or at least how it is supposed to be.
It may seem silly to compare the Church to a baseball team, particularly when sports metaphors are often overused. Yet, watching the Royals over the past two weeks, I can’t help but take inspiration from their example and see its application in my life and the lives of my fellow believers. From the start of the season, they had one goal—to finish at the top. They were in it together and worked together to accomplish it. And they had faith, not the blind kind, but the type that is built on evidence and experience (last season). Not all went smoothly or as planned. They lost five in a row in late August; they lost their closer for the season. Yet, they were undeterred and they kept encouraging one another along the way. Early this morning, they reached their goal.
In the Church, particularly here in the States, we need that sense of team. Yes, we each follow Jesus, but we together ARE the Church. It is less about our individual walks with God, and more about we as a community. For it is in the community of believers we are to find strength to maintain our hope and carry out our purpose.
Today, recognize how much you need other believers to maintain your faith and fulfill your purpose in this world. You may not be a Kansas City Royals fan, or a baseball fan for that matter, but there is a lesson for you to learn from these newly crowned champions—never lose hope, never give up. In the end, we will win!
© Jim Musser 2015
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