Baseball
Hall-of-Fame catcher Gary Carter was a follower of Jesus. During his 19-year
career, he drew strength and endurance from his faith in God to compete day
after day. In an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal
shortly after Carter died of brain cancer at age 57, writer Andrew Klavan told
how Carter had influenced his life.
In the
late 1980s, Klavan had sunk to a low point in his life. His mind dwelt on
suicide. Then he heard Carter interviewed after a game. His team, the New York
Mets, had won, and the aging catcher had helped by running hard at a critical
point in the game. Carter was asked how he could do that with his aching knees.
Klavan heard him say something like this: “Sometimes you just have to play in
pain.” That simple statement helped draw Klavan out of his depression. “I can
do that!” he declared. Encouraged, he found hope—and later became a believer in
Christ.
The comforting truth behind Carter’s statement comes from Lamentations. We may face sorrow, pain, and hardship, but we don’t have to sink into self-pity. The same God who allows our suffering also showers us with His compassion (Lam. 3:32). With God’s love lifting us up, we can—if we have to—“play” in pain.
