You all know Jim Hamilton from his blockbuster book God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment. What you may not know is that Jim is an outstanding athlete who once played baseball for the Arkansas Razorbacks. He’s a competitor, and he loves Christ. That is why I love this personal reflection from Jim about honoring God in sports. It’s a good word for a day when some people are questioning the compatibility of sports and Christianity. Here’s a snippet, but you should really read the whole thing.
I love basketball and baseball. I love leaving it all on the court. I love the exhilaration of teamwork, the ball off the sweet spot, the basketball whispering through the net, the discipline to play defense, after-practice ground balls (or free throws), staying in the hitting cage until the hands bleed or the coach can’t throw anymore or the daylight is gone. And I love to win.
These things aren’t on the surface for me. They’re in me soul deep because they’re all wound up with my relationship with my dad. Growing up, my dad was my hero. He was also the high school basketball coach, and I think he worked (and works) harder than anyone else I know. My dad loved me and made sacrifices for me, and I wanted to please him. The best way to do that, I thought, was to lead the team my dad coached to the state championship. At some point, I think 8th grade, I promised I would do it: I told my dad that we would face Corliss Williamson’s Russellville Cyclones in the State Championship, and that we would win.
I failed. We weren’t even close. We didn’t even get to play in the state tournament my senior year. My mom was a great comfort in those days, and she had long been planting seeds, saying things like “basketball isn’t everything.” One day those seeds would bear fruit.
Read the rest here.
One Comment
Dan Phillips
For the record: I’d rather do both.
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