I was just leaving the office today when my phone beeped with a news alert. Gary Carter had passed away. I am a native New Yorker and a baseball fan. Specifically and enthusiasticly a Mets fan. Having watched and rooted for Gary I had a link to him above other Met players on that same team. We were both Christians, so in a way we played for the same team. He was the first athelete or celebrity that on a large stage stood up for his faith. He was being interviewed after winning the World Series in 1986. In front of millions of people on radio and watching on TV he said “First thing I want to do is thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” It helped me to publicly stand for my Lord and Saviour regardless of what people thought.
As I watch the tributes and reactions the one thing that I see as his greatest legacy is not his stats or his championship or his hall of fame induction. It is the comments from two teammates. Ron Darling a pitcher said “Gary’s greatest impact on us is that we are better husbands, fathers and men.” The other is Daryl Strawberry. Let’s just say that Daryl’s life to put it respectfully, rivals a daily soap opera. Daryl said this, “I wish I could’ve lived my life the same way he did.”
I have to ask myself, am I living for my Lord and Saviour the same way?
