Entering the Halls of Heaven
Buck O’Neill, the black baseball great, was among thirty-nine baseball players being considered for entrance into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Unfortunately, the committee of twelve baseball historians who make those decisions chose not to let him in. According to the Kansas City Star, “they snubbed him” It is sad. I believe both his life and his baseball record should have earned him this honor. For what it is worth, I say, “Buck, I am sorry. I believe you should be granted entrance.”
I did not know Buck O’Neill personally, but his words and actions lead me to believe he was a man of faith---a believer. In response to the word “children,” he answered, “gift of God.” When he spoke at Olathe High School, he asked the students to get on their knees and pray that the committee would see fit to induct him into the Baseball Hall of Fame. When he learned he was not chosen, he responded like a true Christian gentleman.
I am certain Buck was disappointed; but I suspect if you could ask him he would agree that the glory of entering baseball’s Hall of Fame is nothing compared to the glory of entering the halls of heaven. Entering the Hall of Fame is a glory that comes to only a few. In much the same way, Jesus indicated that entering heaven’s glory comes only to a few. He said, “Narrow is the way that leads to (eternal) life, and few there be who find it.” (Matthew 7:14) “Few find the way.” That is really sad, because all that is required to enter heaven is to trust Jesus.
You must earn your way into the Baseball Hall of Fame. It takes years of labor and great skill. In the final analysis, it is in the hands of a committee that decides whether you get in or not. The committee can be wrong, as I believe they were in this case. Entering heaven is quite different. You cannot earn your way into heaven. Your entrance is not in the hands of a fallible committee. Heaven is a gift of God. Jesus paid for it with His life; however, you do have to accept it. Have you? Will you?
In 2022, sixteen years after declining to include Buck in the Hall of Fame, he was added posthumously.
