Me Plus We...Continued from page 1

God works like this. He can take His Word, just a single verse at times, to work on our heart. To be a disciple means to be a learner or follower of Jesus, and unless you’ve learned or mastered it all, Jesus may yet turn to you as you follow and plant that one verse within your heart that begins to change and shape your attitude toward others.

Jeremiah the prophet once said that the Word held within is like a fire. If you want yet another explanation for what was happening to Red Barber, turn to Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

The Word of God within is living and active. It produces change and judges both thoughts and attitudes that we might align ourselves with God and change that attitudes we might harbor within that are counterproductive to His kingdom.

When Branch Rickey announced he had signed Jackie Robinson and that he would play for their Montreal farm club that season, Barber thought, “Well he said he was going to do it and he did.” When it was announced the next year that Robinson would join the Dodgers, Barber didn’t quit. Rickey had given him the time he needed and the Holy Spirit had worked on his heart.

Branch Rickey was a man who challenged not only the baseball community but society as well. He helped society move forward. He didn’t solve the problem. We still deal with it, but he did what he could and Branch Rickey understood this to be the call of Christ in his life. The call of Christ is always that we would do whatever we can to help alleviate the suffering of this world, that we would help confront the prejudices and evils of this world, that we would minister on behalf of the Savior.

Men who were some of the most prejudiced of that day were given the chance to change through the action of the Dodger’s General Manager. Another man of the Deep South, Harold Reese (better known as “Pee Wee” Reese) would later acknowledge how deeply the experience changed him. As shortstop and captain of the team, he once made a profound statement against racial prejudice without uttering a single word.

It was late in the season with the Dodgers playing at home and battling for the pennant. The Brooklyn crowd had already learned to appreciate the talents of Robinson and playing at home provided a safe haven against the hatred Robinson experienced all season as the team traveled. But on this day Robinson made an error at a critical point in the game. Suddenly, the home town fans turned against him and he heard all the same epitaphs he was so accustomed to hearing on the road. He stood out at his second base position demoralized. His head was down, his shoulders slumped as the boos and vicious catcalls were raining down on him. He would later admit this was the one time he almost quit that season.