God's Coaching #158

God's Coaching #158

The smeared eye black down both cheeks made Bryce Harper look like a fearsome tribal warrior. The home runs he launched into the sky were like towering rockets. Grown men’s mouths dropped when they witnessed his amazing talents firsthand. Bryce certainly didn’t look like a teenager at the College of Southern Nevada. On June 7, 2010, after Bryce’s remarkable freshman season, the Washington Nationals selected him as the first overall pick in Major League Baseball’s draft. At the time, Bryce was only 17 years old. He would have barely qualified for a Washington, DC, driver’s license, and he wasn’t old enough to vote.

But age and normal expectations never meant much to Bryce. After leaving high school early, he hit .443 with a school-record 31 home runs and 98 RBIs to lead Southern Nevada to the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series. In August 2010, Bryce signed a record five-year, $$99 million deal with the Nationals.

What’s the Score?

Time will tell if Bryce was worth the top pick. But he certainly accomplished everything possible in his short, amateur career. From a young age, Bryce proved he had major-league talent, so the Nationals took a chance on the teenager. As Christians, age shouldn’t matter to us, either. Look at all the youngsters in the Bible who did great things for God.

Samuel was just a boy when God called him into ministry (1 Samuel 3). David was probably a teen when he killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17:41-42). Daniel was one of the “young men” (Daniel 1:4) who stood for righteousness as exiles in Babylon. And because of the kindness of a “young girl from Israel” (2 Kings 5:2, NIV), Naaman, the commander of Aram’s army, was healed of leprosy.

The lesson? When God searches for willing servants, he doesn’t look at your birth certificate. He looks at your heart. As 1 Timothy 4:12 says, you should “set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (NIV) no matter how old you are.

On the Ball

What’s one area where you can be an example to your family? Write it down here: ______________________________________. Maybe you can try hard to serve others, take care of the pets, dish out compliments, or pray for your family. If you can’t think of an idea, ask your parents for help.

Coach’s Comment

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)