Leadership

Recently a well known professional baseball player near the end of his career was struggling through a terrible slump.  There were other very capable players available to replace him in the lineup, yet the manager, to the dismay of fans of the team,  chose to continue playing the slumping veteran day after day, time after time.  And he continued to fail in game after game, so that he was hardly recognizable as the player he had once been.  Many if not most managers would have sat him on the bench for an extended time if not shipped him down for a minor league assignment, but not this particular manager.  He continued to believe in this flailing, drowning player as if he were playing his best and hadn't missed a beat. He seemed to see some spark or little fire in him that no one else could see, least of all the player himself.  Maybe the manager's steadfast loyalty caused the player to take a closer look and to stir the embers within himself, because suddenly something happened.  There was a surge of power and life and he began to lead the charge of a revitalized offense, smacking several home runs and extra base hits in key clutch situations, helping the team win some crucially important close games.  How relieved the player was to emerge from what seemed the deepest darkest slump of his long career!  And how glad the manager was that he had trusted his subtler instincts, sticking with the one he knew was still present and alive, though buried deep beneath screaming statistics that accused them both of having outlived their day.
   We as believers have a "manager" like that who continues to believe in us no matter in what slump we may be mired, or how poorly we "perform."  He encourages us in between challenges, saying things like, " let not your heart be troubled"  and " I am the way, the truth, and the life."  (John's gospel, chapter 14)   "Cheer up, " He says, "I have overcome the world,"   as if to say, "If I have overcome the world and I live in and through you, you will overcome this slump!"  And that's exactly what he did.