I’ll never forget my last at-bat. Playing in our college conference tournament, we were losing and it didn’t look good. I went to the plate in our half of the last inning, determined not to make an out in what appeared to be my last-ever at-bat. I walked…what a relief, at least for a short time. We indeed lost that game and my career was over and that’s when it hit me: I was done. The game I had played for as long as I could remember was no longer something I could play.
In the time since then, I’ve stayed in contact with the game–coaching, writing about it, discussing it, watching it, and so on. I’ve followed guys I played with and against whose talent took them into professional baseball. Yet, one thing is true of all of us: one day, your career will end. No one plays forever.
Wouldn’t it be great if your career didn’t have to end? What if you could maintain your health, strength, and skill to the point where you played until you died at an old age? In baseball, that’s just a fantasy. In life, however, it’s entirely possible.
Proverbs 3:13–“How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding.”
Youth, strength, and fine motor skills are required to play baseball at a high level. Those decline with age, of course, leaving even the best players with only memories.
Life, however, isn’t based on those things. In fact, youth and strength often fool us into thinking we have reached our peak in life at an early age. But, that’s not how God designed it. Your “career” doesn’t have to end just because you get older. In fact, that’s when it can really take off.
Your career, in this case, is the life God wants for you, a life of wisdom, impact, holiness, and worship. God’s wisdom, unlike our baseball skill, never diminishes. His understanding, unlike our strength, never fails.
If you want something that increases with age, seek God’s wisdom and understanding. Then, even when your playing and coaching days are over, you’ll continue to increase in influence and productivity for the One who really matters.
That’s how your career can never end.
Lord Jesus, thank you that, even when my playing days end, you are not done with me. Build my life each day and make me more like you until I die. Amen.
