Major League Baseball’s trade deadline passed this week and we saw lots of activity across the league, including deals that sent proven players for future prospects. This allows teams to rebuild through their farm system and stockpile young players they believe have bright futures.
In the trades, multiple teams included “a player to be named later.” As a throw-in piece of the deal, nobody pays much attention because they’re not expecting the “player to be named later” to be a big contributor. It just allows teams to get a trade done quickly and worry about the additional player at another time.
Over the years, however, there have been some surprising valuable “players to be named later” such as David Ortiz, Michael Brantley, Moises Alou, Jason Schmidt, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Scott Brosius. Each of them has their own story of once being poor performers, unworthy, discredited, and overlooked, but then becoming known.
In thinking about these kinds of trades being made, I am reminded of the greatest deal that included “players to be named later.” It happened when God the Father sent His son Jesus to earth to die on the cross. Jesus traded the splendor of heaven to become human and pay the ultimate sacrifice.
Philippians 2:7-8 (CSB) explains, “Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when He had come as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.”
Amazingly, Jesus traded it all for some “players to be named later.” We are all poor performers, unworthy, discredited, and overlooked because we’re sinners. Despite this, God makes a way through Jesus for us to be known by Him.
Romans 5:8 (AMP) says, ”But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
And 1 Corinthians 8:3 (ESV) says, ”But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.”
Before Christ, each of us was nothing more than “a player to be named later.” But He died and rose again for us, knowing that in the future we’d have a name that mattered in His book.
Today, let’s be filled with worship and thankfulness that Jesus was willing to make a trade for a bunch of “players to be named later,” and now we are valuable, loved, and known because of Him.
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me and making a way for me to know You and be known by You. I’m valuable in Your eyes because of who I am in Christ. I’m grateful He traded it all for me. It’s in His name, I pray, Amen.Discussion Questions for PACKS:
What does it mean to be known by God?
Why is it important to reflect on how we once were a "player to be named later"?
Comentarios