A Brotherhood for His Glory (Bot9 #101)
The beginning of 2015 will mark the start of a new series, "Forging the Brotherhood." You will see devotionals from coaches, players, and community members around the theme of "brotherhood" for the next few months.
A Brotherhood for His Glory
by Bailey Seeger, Valor Baseball Class of 2018
1 Corinthians 9:25 - “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”
God has worked in my life through the game of baseball. As it turns out, God found me through baseball, perhaps more accurately, baseball is where I found Him! God has been working in my life ever since I started to hear about Him. About 2 years ago, when I was 12, I attended a Complete Game showcase. There were two or three other teams there and we would scrimmage each other after we ran 60s, hit the ball off the tee for exit speed, and we finished up with fielding. After the first scrimmage, we had lunch and the coaches had all of the players gather behind home plate. Coach Dillard was preaching the Gospel. I remember it well, the verse that we talked about was 1 Corinthians 9:25 and how it relates to baseball.I still remember that verse word for word and that verse helps me to know that God is way bigger than the game of baseball. When Coach Dillard talked about that verse he talked about the high school state championship ring that he won and he was so proud of it and worked so hard to get that ring. He said that last year when he was moving he found his ring in the attic when he was cleaning out his house. He had misplaced it and hadn't even missed it. It didn't seem to mean nearly as much to him when he found it as it had when he had won it. When Coach Dillard said that, I realized that winning championships and winning trophies won't matter much to me in five or ten years. What will matter is the love we share in this brotherhood. What will matter is the fun that we had and the time we had to bond and came together as a team, that is what will matter to me in the future. The friendships we have will matter. That is why it matters to bond as brothers when we play. The brotherhood will never go away but the wins and losses will fade from memory. The tournament trophies will gather dust but the brotherhood will survive. The Complete Game showcase was a great day because I still remember that verse and I use that verse a lot. It talks about how all the training you go into to win a trophy will not last but all the time you spend in the Bible will last forever. To this day, I try to always approach baseball like it is bible inspired subset of life. I remember 1 Corinthians 9:25 and remember that God is the reason I am playing and I need to focus more of my time on glorifying Him. 1 Corinthians 9:25 is a big part of my life and is one of my favorite verses.