The
World Series of baseball is raging as I write. The Astros and the Dodgers
are in quite a battle. They are both extraordinary teams.
I love Baseball. Players come in all sizes and from different backgrounds.
The best player may be 5’5” tall or nearly 7’ or any size in between,
overweight or painfully thin. He may be
well educated, or not at all. He may
come from an extremely privileged background, or a severely under privileged
background. He may be from a wide
variety of nations and ethnicities. Each team member’s success depends on
everyone doing their job and playing as a team.
Each player, in the Series, has to
play both offense and defense. Each defensive
position has a unique job. Each offensive player has a similar job, i.e. batting
and running the bases. The team’s
success depends on each player doing his job. Hitters are considered "great" if
they only fail 70% of the time. Success
depends on the individual and the group playing in concert. When both teams play to their potential the
results can be riveting. This year’s Series is such.
The apostle Paul didn’t have the
privilege of experiencing Baseball, but he was acutely aware of the need for
teamwork. In First Corinthians Chapter 12, he likened members of the body of Christ to members
of the human body. As members of Christ’s body, we are joined together,
regardless of size, education, background or ethnicity. We may have different
talents or functions, but together we are one. We owe it to God and to each
other to work together to make His Kingdom come.
