One of the Greatest Things I Have Ever Seen
July 15, 2008Do you know who Josh Hamilton is, besides my new hero? Well you should. Last night I watched one of the most amazing displays of God given ability I have ever seen. Watching Jordan fly through the air and battle through sickness and any other force that came against him to win was memorable even as a child. Watching Tiger just knowing his victory will be the outcome still baffles me. With both of those as examples, they still fall short to Josh Hamilton. For Josh’s story, read this article.
Last night during the Homerun Derby, I saw someone living the life we all are supposed to be living. I saw a man doing what God had created him to do, all the while acknowledging Christ’s influence on his life. God created Josh to play baseball and to honor Him through that ability. On the biggest stage in America last night, Josh did that. Watch ESPN today, hear what they have to say. Last night, they were bewildered by what Josh could do and was doing. Each swing of the bat a miracle in itself. In almost a cartoonish fashion, the cracks of the bat louder and the ball flying higher and farther. Professional athletes in awe. Regular men, like me, mesmerized. 28 home-runs later, the New York crowd some 50,000 strong chanting his name. From nights spent sleeping next to crackheads to a night in Yankee Stadium no one will ever forget.
To hear a man like that, doing something no one else has ever done, say, “I just want to thank Christ and I hope that everything I do will continue to bring glory to Him.” That is not the abused God nod so many people like to do. Josh, at every given opportunity, used the stage to tell people about Jesus. With every question he exampled a life saved and hope restored. He is a man worth watching. A man to put in front of your teenage boys. A man using the gift he has and unashamedly blaming it all on Christ.
When it was all over last night, the story was Josh Hamilton, even though he did not even win the whole thing. It seems kinda fitting to me that God stole the show and did it His way. If I had written the story Josh would have hit 10 HR’s in the final and walked off a champion, but in God’s story Josh already was. I love God’s story so much more than mine!
Watch this clip and see something amazing. Listen to the crowd as he hits ball after ball into the bleachers.
