All Out

If you know me, then you know that I am a huge baseball fan. I'm excited that the Texas Rangers are once again in post season play. Hopefully, this year they'll win the World Series.

Last night I watched what I believe to be the most exciting one day of Major League baseball that I have ever seen. The fate of several teams to extend their season came down to the very last day. Monumental collapses by the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves stood in stark contrast to exciting wins by the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals. And the Rangers had to win their last game to gain home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Really riveting stuff.

What I admire is how so many of these athletes give everything they have to help their team. But every once in a while you find someone who prefers the spotlight to fall on them.

On the final day of the season, New York Mets infielder Jose Reyes held a slight lead over Milwaukee's Ryan Braun for the National League batting title. Reyes told his manager that if he got a hit in his first at-bat, to remove him from the game. In the first inning Reyes successfully bunted and, true to his word, was pulled from the game. He won the batting title but the lost the respect of many people.

In 1941 Ted Williams, my favorite player of all time, faced the same situation. When his Red Sox team entered the final game of the season, his batting average stood at .3995, technically a .400 batting average. It had been several years since anyone had batted .400 and no one has done it since. His manager offered to let Williams sit out that day which was a doubleheader and guarantee his incredible batting average.

Williams wouldn't hear of it. He played in both gsames and finished with an average of .406, a mark that no one has come close to since. Williams beleived in going "all out." He believed in giving everyhing he had until his last chance.

I believe that is how God would want us to live as Christians. It is easy to let up, to find excuses for not doing what we are called by Him to do. And what are we called to do? In the Gospel of Matthew we are instructed to go into all the world and win them for Christ. And Paul instructs us to "press on" for the Lord.

How can we give Him anything less than our best? He gave us His life!