Hall of Fame

In the middle of Cardinal/Cub country, dare I divulge that I was a huge New York Mets fan?  It was many innings ago folks, 1969 to be exact, when a hapless group of young ballplayers, the laughing stock of the major leagues, won the World Series.  How it happened is still a mystery.  They sure didn’t look like winners, and they were constantly making stupid mistakes on the field. Yet, in the end, many sports experts were left scratching their heads, while eating their hats.  What does it take to be a Hall of Famer?  Well, in the case of the ‘69 Mets, they had a great coach, Gil Hodges, in addition to an enthusiastic and encouraging fan base.  I’m sure they got discouraged, a lot, but they kept practicing, looking towards their goal, while the loyal fans kept cheering each and  every accomplishment.  I’ve visited the Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, NY, several times, and always recall that magical year.  Biblically speaking, Hebrews 11:12 remembers some great heroes of faith, what I like to call their Hall of Fame, or The Honor Roll of Faith.  Some of those included as elite members are: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and even Rahab the prostitute.  If you study the lives of any of these people, they were rather ordinary.  People laughed at Noah, and Rahab wasn’t exactly anyone’s first round draft pick.  Yet they all had something in common: God had promised them something. Every one of them had faith that He would make good on those promises, in many cases, without them ever seeing the fulfillment.  They honored God, trusted his guidance, and even though they had failures and setbacks, they persevered.  Like the ’69 Mets, they battled giants, (and Orioles), discouragement and ridicule, attaining at last Hall of Fame status.  I believe that we can draw strength, for our own lives, from these everyday folks.  Strength that will one day find our names, too, in God’s Hall of Fame. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  Hebrews 11:12.