In 1957, I was an impressionable 7 year old who started playing baseball in earnest. My favorite team was the Milwaukee Braves; but my favorite player was a second baseman for the New York Yankees, Bobby Richardson. In the 1960s, he was the Most Valuable Player in the World Series and I wanted to be just like him.
After reading an autographed book written about Bobby Richardson (a special gift from an uncle), I wanted to imitate Bobby Richardson!! Although I did not have what it took to be like Bobby Richardson, my Little League career was a special time of character building and plain old-fashioned fun.
Recently I described to someone an incident for which I wanted sympathy. Her response took me by surprise. Rather than commiserate with me, she suggested that this was "a great opportunity to incarnate Christ in my life". She suggested to me that when difficult circumstances come into our lives we have a wonderful opportunity to imitate Christ by reflecting His character in our responses. This was not what I wanted to hear!
Imitating Jesus is an impossible task requiring change from the inside out. Yet the Apostle Paul tells us,
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV)
God has promised us help as we work out the process of imitating His Son.
Bobby Richardson wasn't disappointed in me. He never knew what was going through the mind of a 7 year old boy from Pennsylvania whom he never met. Jesus, however, knows the intentions of our hearts and sees us in action. The person I least want to disappoint is Jesus. God have mercy.
Sharing the journey with you,
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