Bobby Richardson
Former Second Baseman for the New York
Yankees
We must have a purpose in life, and
that purpose should be to please God – to know Him, to love Him, to walk with
Him in our daily lives. Baseball is a
profession full of temptations, just as other professions, and it is a
challenge to lead a Christian life in the midst of it. But I take my stand on a Bible verse that
has strengthened and challenged me because I know to claim it means a
completely surrendered life:
I
am crucified with Christ;
nevertheless
I live, yet not I,
but
Christ lives in me;
and
the life which I live in the flesh
I
live by the faith of the Son of God,
who
loved me,
and
gave Himself for me.
(Galatians
2:20)
This is how all things – home runs and costly errors – “work
together for good” in my life (Romans 8:28).
It’s because He’s in charge. It’s
because I love Him and want to please Him in every possible way. And that’s why He doesn’t need my successes
to glorify His name. He can do it,
perhaps even better, when I fail.
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Mickey Mantle’s family asked Bobby
Richardson if he could come visit him.
His death was imminent. To
honor Mickey’s long-standing request – one he had made at the funeral of
Roger Maris nine years earlier – Bobby was asked to speak at the funeral
(1995). After entering the hospital room, Richardson
went over to Mantle’s bed and took his hand.
Locking his eyes on him, Bobby said, “Mickey, I love you, and I want
you to spend eternity in heaven with me.”
Mantle smiled and said, “Bobby, I’ve been wanting to tell you that I
have trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior.”
Faced with the crushing weight of his sin against a holy God and its
dire consequence – eternal separation from God – Mickey had asked for and
received forgiveness he so desperately needed. For Richardson, news of his conversion felt
like cool rain after a summer drought, and brought tears to his eyes. For years, he had talked to Mickey about
the Lord Jesus, but to no avail. Now,
in the final inning of his life, the Mick had won his greatest victory – more
glorious than any of his tape-measured home runs. When asked later how he knew he would spend
eternity with God in heaven, Mickey, after some reflection, quoted John
3:16: “For God so loved the world that
He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have eternal life.” [from the American
Tract Society tract “His Final Inning” by Ed Cheek] |