Honor, Glory, and Praise
I am certain that those of you who know me thought this would be the topic yesterday - Tuesday's announcement of the 2015 MLB Hall of Fame inductees, especially with Craig Biggio, the Houston Astro extraordinaire, being in that group. Among them, Randy Johnson, former pitching great, Pedro Martinez, pitcher as well, John Smoltz, pitcher with one of the deadliest rotations ever in MLB, and Biggio, a 3000+ hit in his career/catcher/second baseman/center field/All-Star. Yes, the Biggio decision made me proud. I had seen him start and end his career in Houston from a young age through retirement. When he had an ability to go with the Yankees in the late 90s, he stayed with Houston for a lesser amount.
Other sports have all stars and halls of fame, but baseball seems to be the premier among them. Selection is done by the baseball writers, who see their role as protecting the game (especially a game that cannot protect itself). Alcohol, drug use, and steroid use have been among its problems, so the heroes we honor in baseball should reflect more than the game they played but rather be able to live up to a standard off the field as well. They are our heroes.
We love our heroes, and we love to honor them. We stand with tears in our eyes with them as they parade by at events such as the 4th of July, Memorial Day, and Veteran's Day. We get chills when they fly over at the start of games. Lumps go in our throats as the battalion of bagpipes walks by playing "Amazing Grace" in honor of or to glorify a fallen hero. And even in our sports, we enjoy giving them a status or level of respect because they exemplified what is best in all of us. Heroes are truly in all walks of life. Yet, we are very disappointed when we see our heroes have human qualities as well. When they stumble, we withdraw support quickly, and maybe even join in the throngs of people who condemn them.
If we look at scripture, we see that our honor needs to have a measure of sobriety. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us," we read in 1 John (1:8). Our heroes are human, worthy of honor, but not to be idolized. Heroes come in all shapes, sizes, and professions but they are fallible, one and all.
There really is only one who is worthy of worship, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To God, "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1:9) Only faith in the resurrected Christ gives us this assurance. He is the one worthy of worship and praise. Humans are just that, human.
Peace in the Risen Christ -
Hope Men's Ministry
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