Author:
Charles Colson
Date:
February 25, 1999
Source:
Breakpoint
At
New York's Shea Stadium, two years ago, baseball commissioner Bud
Selig announced that number 42 would be retired by the major leagues
forever. It was a mark of honor for the man who had worn that
number-the man who broke baseball's color barrier in 1947:
Jackie
Robinson.
February
is Black History Month, and our kids have been hearing a lot about
Robinson's quiet dignity in the face of racial bigotry on the ball
field. But what many of them are not hearing is the source of
Robinson's ability to turn the other cheek: It was his faith in Jesus
Christ.
Robinson
was born in 1919 into a culture steeped in racism. And from early
childhood it drove Robinson mad. Historian Jackson Lears, writing in
the New Republic, says Robinson had "a reputation as a mad
brawler, always ready to smash in the teeth of any white man who
insulted him." Later, at UCLA, he gained a reputation as a thug.
But
it was also at UCLA that Robinson began to encounter the forces that
would free him from some of his rage. One was a nursing student named
Rachel Isum, whom he later married. The other was a black minister
named Karl Downs, whose hard-hitting sermons taught Robinson that
Christianity was not a synonym for racial submission.
By
1945 Robinson had developed a firm conviction that God had an
important purpose for his life. That purpose became clear when
Robinson was summoned to the office of Branch Rickey, general manager
for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey was determined to make history by
putting the first black player on a major league team. But first
Rickey made certain Robinson understood what he would face:
everything from racial epithets to physical assaults to hotel clerks
refusing him accommodations.
Rickey
challenged Robinson, telling him he was "looking for a
ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back"-a phrase that has
since become legendary.
What
is less well known is that Rickey also handed Robinson a copy of a
book by Giovanni Papini called The Life of Christ. And he reminded
Robinson of the words of Jesus: "Resist not evil: but whosoever
shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."
By
quoting Scripture, Lears writes, Rickey "was hitting Robinson in
the heart, invoking the Methodist Christianity that they shared."
Robinson's
struggle began as soon as he walked out onto the ball field wearing a
Dodgers uniform. During his ten years with the Dodgers, he endured
racist remarks, death threats, and unfair calls by umpires. But
Robinson's faith helped him keep his anger in check. Every night, he
got on his knees and prayed for self-control. "Through all the
frustrations," writes Lears, "his Christianity sustained
him." Robinson left baseball in 1956 and spent the rest of his
life working in the civil-rights movement. Despite personal tragedies
and setbacks, Robinson's
faith
in Christ never wavered.
Before
Black History Month ends, make sure your own children learn about
Jackie Robinson. But beware: Some biographies of Robinson written for
children don't even mention his Christian faith. Our kids deserve to
know the full story of the hero who broke baseball's color barrier.
The
man whose faith helped him overcome prejudice to make baseball
history and become a great national legend.
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