Derek Jeter

In case you missed it (you would have had to spent all day on a different planet not to) Derek Jeter, the shortstop of the New York Yankees, got his 3,000th hit today.  Not only did he get a hit, that hit was a home run!  In 135 years of record keeping, The Captain (as Jeter is known) is only the 28th player to get 3,000 hits.  He is also the only Yankee to get that many.  Babe Ruth didn't.  Nor Gehrig.  Or DiMaggio.  Or Mantle.  Then, as if to cement his great day in sports history forever, Jeter got a single in the 8th inning to drive in the eventual game-winning run.  For the day Jeter went 5-for-5.

Of course, the crowd of 48,103 was ecstatic.  There was a long standing ovation followed by a curtain call.  He was the talk of the broadcasters during and after the game.  He was the buzz of the crowd.  The focus of the media.  After the game, there was a tribute to Jeter on TV that showed highlights of his career along with interviews from players and managers.  It was the kind of day that makes grown men cry.  (Women cry at chic flicks, men cry about sports.)

As I saw all the fanfare, the celebration, the joy, the flashback of a great career, it caused me to think of the future of we who are Christians.  Someday we are going to be front-and-center on the biggest stage of all history.  After time has ended, each Christian will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10, I Corinthians 3:10-15, 2 Corinthians 5:10).  This will be the place where every Christian’s life will be replayed.  Where rewards for faithful service are given. 

For Christians who have done their best to live for Jesus, it will be a great time.  Better than Derek Jeter’s day a million times over.  Jesus will be there.  So will every single angel and created being.  Then every person who died in faith down through the ages will also be in attendance.  A great, mighty throng too numerous to count.  As believer after believer stands before Jesus, every good deed, every kind word, every act of obedience and triumph over temptation will be there for all to see.  From cradle to the grave, each believer’s life will be replayed (minus the sins that have been forgiven and erased).  At the conclusion of each life Jesus will hand out rewards, REAL rewards, rewards that won’t rust, decay or fade.  And then they will hear those words that every believer longs to hear from the lips of Jesus, “Well done, good and faithful servant.  Enter into the joy of Your Lord.”  Talk about excitement.  Talk about mind-numbing exhilaration, this is it!

Unfortunately, the Judgment Seat of Christ will be a sad time for those believers who pretty much squandered their lives by living for themselves.  By dabbling in sin.  They are the ones who will be saved ‘so as by fire’.  Translated that means ‘by the skin of their teeth’.  So, the challenge for us is to be obedient now.  To live all-out for Jesus while we have the time and the opportunity.  If we do, our day in eternity will be better than all the greatest events in sports history wrapped up into one.  It will be a day of which we will live in the afterglow for the rest of eternity!  It might even cause a few angels to cry with joy and happiness!

Lord, I thank you for the opportunities that I have to serve You each day.  Help me to be faithful.  Help me to be obedient.  Help me to keep in mind the day that I will stand before Jesus in eternity.  Remind me that I have the power to make that day special beyond anything I can imagine.  On that day may my life bring You glory.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.