Years ago, I may have told you about my first baseball glove. I brought it at Jimmy’s Shoeshine place on east 16th Street in Indianapolis. When I purchased the glove, it was in the era where Hall of Famers like Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Cletis Boyer, And Whitey Ford were playing for the New York Yankees. I was still in elementary school and wanted to play on a Little League Team, one of the Douglas Little League teams, which, by the way, was a well-run league for African-American boys.
The glove I brought was an antique. I didn’t know it’s potential value back then. Today, it would probably bring in a pretty good amount of money at an antique show. Back to the story. I had saved up $1.50 to purchase a glove and what I ended up with was the only one they had for the amount of money I could offer. The glove was made out of leather, but being from times past, it was very small and did not have as many fingers as the more modern mitts that the other players used. Well, I go to tryouts with my old-timer’s glove. I carried it folded and under my arm as much as I could to keep from being questioned, “What kind of glove is that?” There were also questions like, “Was that your grandfather’s glove, one of the original mitts?”
Tryouts start on a scheduled Saturday morning. Kids went through a number of drills: fielding, throwing, catching, batting, running, and more. When it was my turn to go through the catching drill, one of the adult managers supervising the tryouts pulled me aside and said, “You can’t use that glove. It does not fit for this game. Borrow someone else’s mitt.” You see, the saying, “If it does not fit” probably originated from my childhood experience.
I made one of the minor league teams but only played one year. I guess baseball was not my game and I realized I would never reach any claim of fame, not just from a national perspective, but from a neighborhood perspective.
There is a point to this story. When you see a person, young or old, a child or a grown man or mature woman who does not have the proper equipment to achieve excellence in their Christian growth progression, be like the adult manager that told me my glove did not fit. How so? Just share with them the following passage below. It will be helpful in equipping them to make perfect progress on the Christian journey and achieve excellence while striving for perfection. Help them out, when the glove does not fit, by referring them to the scriptures written by the Apostle Paul as inspired by God. Have a great Thursday! Now I did not say, “Have a great game,” because Christian living is not a game. Oh! Don’t play for national fame but play to lift up Jesus’ name. For Jesus said, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me.” Be blessed!
“To end my letter I tell you, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. Wear the full armor of God. Wear God’s armor so that you can fight against the devil’s clever tricks. Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places. That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing. So, stand strong with the belt of truth tied around your waist, and on your chest wear the protection of right living. On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows that come from the Evil One. Accept God’s salvation as your helmet. And take the sword of the Spirit—that sword is the teaching of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers and ask for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all of God’s people.” (Ephesians 6:10-18 The Easy-to-Read Bible)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King