It’s always crazy when a game is extended to extra innings or overtime to decide the outcome. Quite often, the course of the game is spent competing, when routine things happen that just don’t seem to matter. However, more often than not, these mundane occurrences seem to rear their ugly head as they come back to affect the outcome. What I mean is, sometimes the smallest details force the game to be extended.
It was interesting watching the World Series recently. In game one, the Yankees took a 3 to 2 lead in the top of the 10th inning. The Dodgers came to bat in the bottom of the 10th, they were down to their final out. The Yankees had to make a decision on what strategy they would use. They chose to walk the bases loaded and face Freddie Freeman. Now, if you watched the game, you saw history being made. One pitch, one swing, one grand slam, and game one goes to the Dodgers. This was October baseball at its finest…unless of course you are a Yankees fan.
This is a great reminder to us, the small details can play into the outcome of our daily lives. What’s most important for us to remember, if we overlook the small details, we may just miss an opportunity to impact someone’s life for Christ. “How?” you might ask… By being present and not being so focused on our screens that we truly see others. By living righteously and praying for those opportunities to be a light. By really paying attention to the answer when you ask someone, “How are you?” By asking someone how their walk is going with the Lord or how you can pray for them. By being aware of your surroundings so that you can offer a helping hand if needed…
We have been given a beautiful gift to use the sports platform to help people reach their full potential in Christ. Let’s do our best to capitalize on these opportunities because in life there are no extra innings. As Colossians 4:5 instructs, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”