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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
Victory In Jesus
October 19, 2006
The Detroit Tigers are going to the World Series. What else could I
possibly write about this week? They are my team and I have faithfully
followed them since I was a boy of thirteen. A lot of people ask me if I am
from Michigan. Why else would anyone root for this group of losers? My
Tigers were the laughing stock of baseball just three years ago when they
challenged the major league record for losses in a season. Today all of that
has changed and they are the talk of the town. Life is good for those who
put their faith in the old English D.
To answer the question as to how I became a Tiger fan you have to go
back to that summer of 1971. It was a time of upheaval in my life. My
parents were going through a divorce. My mother was an alcoholic and
she walked out on the family. That summer I developed a love for
baseball. It became a lifeline in the sea of chaos that was my adolescent
life. Because my situation didn't allow me to play little league baseball, I
didn't realize that everyone here in Connecticut lined up to choose sides
and became either a Yankee or Red Sox fan. I chose the Detroit Tigers as
my team because I liked the Tiger logo on the baseball cards. It was cool.
That's what twelve year old boys do.
Over the years I learned all the players names and fell in love with them.
They were my team. Kaline, Cash, Lolich and Freehan were the guys I
grew up with. I lived vicariously through Trammell, Whitaker, Gibson and
Morris because they were my contemporaries. It was great to be a Tiger
fan in the 1980's. Then the hard times came. Every spring my hope was
restored as a fresh season got under way. Disappointment soon followed.
The years dragged on but no matter how bad things got, I never once
thought about giving up my faith in the Tigers. I knew that one day things
would turn around again.
As I was reading an article about the long suffering Tigers and their fans,
it struck me that our faith in God is often tested in a similar way.
Sometimes we go through seasons of life where it appears that God has
abandoned us and our hope of seeing even small victories is quickly
extinguished. The tough times can drag on for years.
Several years ago I walked with one of my friends who was battling
cancer. He was a man of great faith. He taught me what it was to pray
with confidence. He knew the Bible better than anyone I knew. Yet at one
point in his treatment he told me that he could not sense God's presence in
his life. He felt lost and alone. This startled me. For if anyone could sing
God's praises in the midst of pain and suffering, it would be my friend.
Throughout his walk in that dark valley his faith was tested, but it never
wavered. The secret, he once confided in me, was in remembering.
Whenever he got down, he would think back to how God had lifted him
up time after time.
In time my friend's faith was rewarded and he was healed of his cancer.
He found his victory in Christ. He taught me a lesson too. On several
occasions over the last twelve years I pulled out the video tape from the
1984 World Series. It provided the boost I needed. It also pointed to the
future and the truth that one day my Tigers would get there again. So
when you are discouraged, you have got to look back and then look ahead.
Keep the faith. God will take care of you and give you the victory. If the
Tigers can clinch the pennant this year, then God can do anything, right?
Have faith. Believe and you will find your victory in Jesus.
God Bless. See you in church. Cal
October 19, 2006
The Detroit Tigers are going to the World Series. What else could I
possibly write about this week? They are my team and I have faithfully
followed them since I was a boy of thirteen. A lot of people ask me if I am
from Michigan. Why else would anyone root for this group of losers? My
Tigers were the laughing stock of baseball just three years ago when they
challenged the major league record for losses in a season. Today all of that
has changed and they are the talk of the town. Life is good for those who
put their faith in the old English D.
To answer the question as to how I became a Tiger fan you have to go
back to that summer of 1971. It was a time of upheaval in my life. My
parents were going through a divorce. My mother was an alcoholic and
she walked out on the family. That summer I developed a love for
baseball. It became a lifeline in the sea of chaos that was my adolescent
life. Because my situation didn't allow me to play little league baseball, I
didn't realize that everyone here in Connecticut lined up to choose sides
and became either a Yankee or Red Sox fan. I chose the Detroit Tigers as
my team because I liked the Tiger logo on the baseball cards. It was cool.
That's what twelve year old boys do.
Over the years I learned all the players names and fell in love with them.
They were my team. Kaline, Cash, Lolich and Freehan were the guys I
grew up with. I lived vicariously through Trammell, Whitaker, Gibson and
Morris because they were my contemporaries. It was great to be a Tiger
fan in the 1980's. Then the hard times came. Every spring my hope was
restored as a fresh season got under way. Disappointment soon followed.
The years dragged on but no matter how bad things got, I never once
thought about giving up my faith in the Tigers. I knew that one day things
would turn around again.
As I was reading an article about the long suffering Tigers and their fans,
it struck me that our faith in God is often tested in a similar way.
Sometimes we go through seasons of life where it appears that God has
abandoned us and our hope of seeing even small victories is quickly
extinguished. The tough times can drag on for years.
Several years ago I walked with one of my friends who was battling
cancer. He was a man of great faith. He taught me what it was to pray
with confidence. He knew the Bible better than anyone I knew. Yet at one
point in his treatment he told me that he could not sense God's presence in
his life. He felt lost and alone. This startled me. For if anyone could sing
God's praises in the midst of pain and suffering, it would be my friend.
Throughout his walk in that dark valley his faith was tested, but it never
wavered. The secret, he once confided in me, was in remembering.
Whenever he got down, he would think back to how God had lifted him
up time after time.
In time my friend's faith was rewarded and he was healed of his cancer.
He found his victory in Christ. He taught me a lesson too. On several
occasions over the last twelve years I pulled out the video tape from the
1984 World Series. It provided the boost I needed. It also pointed to the
future and the truth that one day my Tigers would get there again. So
when you are discouraged, you have got to look back and then look ahead.
Keep the faith. God will take care of you and give you the victory. If the
Tigers can clinch the pennant this year, then God can do anything, right?
Have faith. Believe and you will find your victory in Jesus.
God Bless. See you in church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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