I watch a lot of baseball.  While I concede that the only sport more painful and boring to watch on TV is probably golf, baseball is a family (and an American) tradition.  The Drakes have been devoted fans of the New York Yankees since their hollowed inauguration in 1903.  We don't even acknowledge that there are fans of the Boston Red Sox; to us, they are sympathizers to the Rebel forces.  Obviously, I like baseball a lot.

One relatively well-known player from the 70s and 80s is a guy named Steve Garvey.  He played for the Dodgers and Padres, and he is the definition of old-school baseball.  Gritty, blue-collar, no glitz, and no glam.  He didn't play ball because he was greedy; he played because he loved to play.  He is a rare breed of ballplayer (in any sport these days) and his legacy is renowned among baseball die-hards.

After his career was over, he made this statement: "The difference between the old ballplayer and the new ballplayer is the jersey.  The old ballplayer cares about the name on the front.  The new ballplayer cares about the name on the back."

Of course, this is painfully true.  We are in an era where some ballplayers salaries could feed an entire country for 100 years.  Most professional athletes don't care about what team they play for, but rather what team can pay.  They want to be in the spotlight and get paid an exorbitant amount of money for their individual accomplishments.   They are constantly looking out for "Number One" and consequently professional sports have lost their "team unity" at an exponential rate.

While it is easy for us to stand back and condemn the athletes who do this, we are really no different.  How so?  Well, since you and I will probably never don a pro uniform and receive a paycheck for playing any sport, I'm talking about another area of our lives.  When it comes to your life right now, who are you living for?  What is your motivation when you get up in the morning?  Are you constantly looking to be in the spotlight and get applauded for your actions?  Are you trying to receive all the glory for your individual accomplishments?

In other words, whose name do you care about?  Is it the name on the front of your jersey?  Or is it the name on the back - your name?

In the New Testament book of Acts, there are at least 12 occasions (that I could count) where something was done "in the name of Jesus."  People were healed.  People were baptized.  The apostles were preaching.  The apostles were speaking.  Demons were exorcised.  All of this was "in the name of Jesus."  And it seemed that this was the trend of the early church following the Ascension of Jesus.  Everything they did was in the name of Jesus; no other name was important.  Not Peter, not Paul, not John, not James, not Mary - only the name of Jesus.

Fast forward about fifty years to the city of Ephesus.  The Apostle John - from the old-school - is writing to some young believers, instructing them on how to handle a problem with one of their church members.  John makes this statement: "But Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence, did not receive us" (3 John 9).  Preeminence simply means that this guy Diotrephes loved being in the spotlight; he liked doing things his way and always wanted to put himself first.  He was playing for the name on the back of his jersey.  

We often find ourselves in the position of Diotrephes.  We do all the right things, but usually we do them for all the wrong reasons.  We serve so we will be appreciated.  We sing because we will be applauded.  We talk so we will be esteemed.  We volunteer so we can be recognized.  We do everything for the name on the back of our jersey - our name - instead of doing it in the name on the front - the name of Jesus.  We should take a lesson from the old-school - the really old-school, as in the early church from the book of Acts - and do everything in the name of Jesus, and for his glory and honor, not ours...because you can tell a lot about a person by whose name they're playing for. 

When Dad spoke about trials this Sunday at The Chapel, it reminded me of a lesson I learned not too long ago.

If we all have one thing in common in this life, it's this: hardships.  Tough times.  Valleys.  Low points in life.  Whatever you want to call it, we've all got it.  It seems to be an inescapable part of this life, that we don't experience the good times without also going through the bad.  

In the first century A.D., he Apostle John penned a small letter to a church in the city of Smyrna (it's recorded in Revelation 2:8-11).  Smyrna was a city in what is called "Asia Minor," which is modern-day Turkey.  The city's name literally means "myrrh," which is a resin-like substance used as a perfume in those ancient times.  It was said that Smyrna was the most beautiful city in Asia Minor.

But the people who were Christians in that city experienced a great deal of persecution for their faith - and it was severe.  They weren't just getting on their soapboxes and crying, "victim!"; this was some serious stuff.  In fact, within fifty years of John writing, the pastor of the church in Smyrna was burned alive for preaching.  This was just the culmination of what had been going on for years -- some severe persecution.  Some tough times.  Some valleys and hardships.

So John is writing to them, preparing them for the worst-case scenario, knowing that some would die as a result of this horrible persecution.  "Be faithful," he says, "even to the point of death, and you'll receive the crown of life."  How could life result from death?  Well to answer that, we have to go back to the meaning of Smyrna, which is myrrh.  Myrrh is produced by crushing a naturally fragrant plant...by utterly crushing it.  It's the idea of applying an intense amount of pressure to grapes so that the juice flows out.  So by applying pressure and crushing this plant, we have something beautiful: perfume.

That's exactly what it feels like when you're going through a tough time, doesn't it?  It feels like there is so much pressure from the weight of the world, or maybe you don't know where to turn.  You're stressed out, and the pressure seems too much for you.  I hope you never have to experience the type of persecution that those Christians at Smyrna experienced, and yet I'm not naive enough to believe that your life will be free of all struggles.  

But when you feel like you're cornered and you don't know what to do - you feel, well, crushed - remember that it is not in vain.  It's not for nothing.  Just as something beautiful-smelling arises out of the crushing of the myrrh plant, whatever you're going through right now will eventually lead to a sweet aroma.  I'm not saying there won't be scars or reminders of that crushing; in fact there probably will be.  But consider the promise from the book of Psalms: "Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning!"

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