A Lasting Legacy

CORE PRACTICE #85: Consider what gifts, position, and influence God has given you as a platform to help other people.

But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. —2 Corinthians 2:14

TONY

In 2013, Hollywood released a movie that reminded the world of the incredible impact made by a man who had died over forty years before.

That film, 42, centers on the first two years of Jackie Robinson’s career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1947 Robinson became the first African American to play major league baseball.

The movie picks up in 1945, shortly before the Dodgers’ president, Branch Rickey, contacted Jackie about joining his team. Rickey was direct with Jackie about the possible consequences: “There’s virtually nobody on our side. No owner, no umpires, very few newspapermen. And I’m afraid that many fans may be hostile. . . . We can win only if we can convince the world that I am doing this because you’re a great ballplayer, and a fine gentleman.”^a

In fact, playing second base for a major league team was nothing compared to the insults, threats, and prejudice Jackie endured because he had dared to break baseball’s color barrier.

Until the movie’s release, many people were unaware of the critical role Jackie’s wife, Rachel, played during that time. Just one week after their wedding, she headed with Jackie to Daytona Beach, Florida, for his first year of spring training. As they traveled there by bus, these two California natives were shocked by the segregation they encountered. The difficulties only increased once they’d arrived in Florida. Still, Jackie played well during spring training and was assigned to the Montreal Royals, a Triple-A minor league team affiliated with the Dodgers. Six days before the start of the 1947 season, the Dodgers called Jackie up to play in the major leagues.

Rachel was well aware of the dangers her husband faced as he began his professional baseball career. She says she “always felt very protective toward him. I went to every home game.” So how were they able to display such dignity and grace in public? Rachel recalls that they drove home together after games. During the drive, they spent time debriefing about any ugliness they’d seen and heard. “Before we got home, we had all those kinds of talks because home was a place where we needed to relax and not have to deal with the tensions of the outside world.”^b

Robinson played a total of ten seasons in the major leagues, finishing with a .311 batting average and a total of 1,518 hits and 137 home runs. His dignified character and undisputed talent changed professional sports for the better, but the pressures of breaking down baseball’s color barrier took its toll. Jackie was just fifty-three when he died, and Rachel has been a steadfast advocate for her husband’s memory ever since. As founder of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, she has overseen the distribution of thousands of college scholarships.

Nowadays, we hear a lot about a person’s “platform.” Rarely is it as visible or as dangerous as the one Jackie and Rachel Robinson assumed in the 1940s. And rarely has anyone used it more effectively either.

Whether we’re in the public eye or not, however, we all have a platform. Using our occupations, our friendships, our families, and our accomplishments, we all are expected to impact and influence the world for the good of those around us and for God’s glory. And as Jackie and Rachel illustrated so beautifully, God created marriage as a means for a husband and wife to support and encourage each other while fulfilling their unique purposes.

While you may not be making history like Jackie Robinson, never forget that God has given you an assignment with eternal consequences. According to the apostle Paul, you are to make sure you use your own gifts and platform “to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.” That’s quite a lofty platform!

Adventure Application: We are each created by God with a unique purpose, passions, potential, and platform. This week, think about what those are for each of you. Talk about how you might use them to impact those around you for their good and His glory.