Dirty Rags

One of the most scary things about learning to drive as a teenager was when the Drivers Ed Instructor took us downtown. Besides all of the congestion and the fear that he would make us parallel park in a tight spot there was the abundance of one way streets. He even told us about how to tell if it is a one way street. Now most people would probably think that everything is labeled but that isn’t necessarily so. What if you came to a one way street where there was a yield or a stop sign? You might not realize it is one way and attempt to turn if you knew you needed to go that way. One of the first things he told us is that all of the cars on both sides of the road would be parked in the same direction. You can’t always see traffic only going one way. What if there isn’t any traffic on the road at the moment you want to turn?

I’ll bet you that once or twice in your lifetime you have turned the wrong way on a one way street. I have and it doesn’t take long until I realized I was dead wrong. It is horrifying to be in that situation. I remember a few years ago a guy who went to my high school and was a year or two younger than me tried to get on the highway on the exit ramp. Before he realized that he was dead wrong he was hit head on and killed. Fortunately for me the two times I accidentally got on a one way street going the wrong way I quickly saw what happened and was able to get off in a hurry! The question is bound to come up. Why do we need all of the one way streets anyway? They can be very inconvenient at a time when we realize we need to go in a certain direction only to be blocked by a one way street. I don’t have an answer but I do know you can’t fight City Hall. If the road is one way we must drive accordingly even if we don’t like the law.

Good parents will teach their kids to love and fear God and walk in the way of righteousness. These principles can help when life’s problems come crashing down on them later. However many times the kids rebel. They want to carve out their own path and start disregarding the good foundation their parents planted in them. They start hanging around with the wrong people and when loving parents question their associations they get upset and do the opposite of what they were taught. All we can do as parents is lay that foundation down. Rebellion can be traced back as far as Adam and Eve. God told them that they could eat from any of the trees except for one. It wasn’t confusing and they understood precisely what he meant. It wasn’t like the missing road sign on a one way street. Yet even with this precise command God never took away their will to choose. When the Serpent came and tempted them and started making them doubt God they did what God told them not to do. They ate from the forbidden tree and that original sin contaminated the human race.

It is so interesting if you ask people what they think a Christian is? I have asked this question and found the answer is all over the map. “Someone who goes to church”, or Someone who believes in God”, they might say. Here are other answers that come up “Someone who lives by the golden rule of do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “Someone who follows the 10 commandments.” The list goes on and on but once in awhile you might hear the right answer. “Someone who has been saved by grace.” Jesus made it crystal clear in his teachings how to get to Heaven. “Ye must be born again” he answered an inquisitive Nicodemus who was a religious leader of the time. Nicodemus was confused and took what Jesus said into the physical sense. Jesus explained that it is a rebirth of the spirit and it is a must. Jesus stated on another occasion that “I am the way the truth and the life. Nobody gets to the father except by me.” John 14:6 Throughout his ministry Jesus was rebelled against. His absolutes in a world of man’s thinking was not a big hit to most. They plotted to kill him because he told them things they didn’t want to hear. He also made the illustration of the road to heaven. ¹⁴ Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it….Matthew 7:14.

Have you ever tried to clean something with a dirty rag? You will find that whatever you are cleaning actually becomes more dirty. That is how God looks at our good deeds when we do them on our own. Many people think that good works will get us to heaven. Good works though is a product of a clean heart. A heart that has been given to service to our God. The world judges people on their good deeds but God judges on if they have accepted his son. In Isaiah it states that God looks at our good deeds done alone as dirty rags. All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep …Isaiah 64:6.

Jesus was crucified because he spoke the truth but people didn’t want to hear it. They wanted to make their own rules and do their own thing. I have heard people imply that there are many ways to heaven and many paths to get there. That is contrary to Jesus’ teaching. I have heard that many different philosophers and religions offer words of wisdom to live by. There has been many who have given good advice to live by but did anyone but Jesus actually die for us? Did any of these religious leaders rise from the dead? Jesus’ tomb is empty unlike any of the founders of other religions. The key to Christianity has never been following the rules with head knowledge. It is not something that we have to suffer to obey. The rules are followed because it is heart knowledge and becomes what we want to do to please God. There is no suffering involved. We don’t have to try to keep the 10 commandments or the golden rule. We naturally will with our heart in place. When our Spirit is right our actions are right and we are on the right path! There is only one path and it is narrow but there is room for all of us on it! Jesus’ clean cloth of righteousness will clean us up where dirty rags will not.

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Not My Heisman

John Cappelletti had one thing on his mind that day. He was a senior running back for Penn State University and they were playing West Virginia in late October. Earlier he had asked his younger brother Joey what he wanted for his 11th birthday coming up? “I want you to score 3 touchdowns, no 4”, Joey proclaimed. In his mind he was thinking about the astronomical request his little brother had parlayed to him. Scoring 4 touchdowns in one game was almost unheard of for one player. Yet Cappelletti had been inspired by his little brother all year and although the request seemed unreachable he had learned to reach new heights thanks to his brothers encouragement. You see Cappelletti was having a once in a lifetime season. He was playing on a team that was undefeated and he was in the running for the coveted Heisman Trophy which goes annually to the best college football player in the nation. All of those things were important that day but the most important inspiration was somehow someway scoring those 4 touchdowns for his little brother and making his birthday happier!

John Cappelletti was a grinder. He had average speed and although he was considered a bigger back at that time, he wasn’t enormously big. He weighed 215 pounds but that year all of his weight and will was spent running that ball. In his senior year he averaged 5.3 yards per carry. It was amazing that a guy that wasn’t a threat to score every time he had the ball in his hands could have such an average. In his pro career that followed he never averaged even 4 yards for an entire season. The key to his running was consistency and effort however. If there was a short third down run to be made he was sure to deliver. His determination and never give up attitude is what the coaches loved. You could count on Cappelletti to deliver and he hoped he could deliver for his little brother.

Cappelleti won the Heisman Trophy that year! His Penn State team went 12-0 and they finished #5 in the national polls. When people looked at his life from a distance at that time they assumed that he had it all. He was young, smart, and a tremendous football player who seemingly had a wonderful future ahead of him! He seemingly didn’t have a care in the world but he did. Behind the scenes he had one burden that he just couldn’t get rid of. It was like that persistent tackler who was around his legs and wouldn’t let go. On the football field he was able to shake off would be tacklers but this one was different. This one was the biggest obstacle that he ever faced.

At the end of the first half against West Virginia Cappelleti had scored 3 touchdowns. In his mind he just had to get one more and see the smile on his little brothers face. However at the start of the second half his coach Joe Pateno informed him that he was substituting him out of the game. He didn’t want it to seem like he was running up the score by keeping his best player in the game. Cappelletti didn’t complain or tell the coach about his little brothers birthday request. He just quietly went over and sat on the bench. As he was sitting there the game was drifting away. It was late in the third quarter when he heard the loud sound of Paterno’s voice. “22” and Cappelleti ran into the game! A teammate knew of Joey’s request and told the coach about it! Cappelletti was able to score that 4th touchdown for Joey before he sat down for good! He was so happy he would be able to put a smile on Joey’s face!

In his Heisman speech Cappelletti did the usual thanking. His list started with his parents and went on down the line. Then in a crazy turn from the main path he shocked the crowd by his next revelation. In a very emotional statement while trying hard and failing to hold back his tears this is what he said.

“The next part — I’m very happy to do something like this — I thought about it since the Heisman was announced 10 days ago. … The youngest member of my family, Joseph, is very ill. He has leukemia. If I can dedicate this trophy to him tonight and give him a couple days of happiness, this is worth everything. I think a lot of people think that I go through a lot on Saturdays and during the week as most athletes do, and you get your bumps and bruises and it is a terrific battle out there on the field. Only for me it is on Saturdays and it’s only in the fall. For Joseph, it is all year round and it is a battle that is unending with him and he puts up with much more than I’ll ever put up with and I think that this trophy is more his than mine because he has been a great inspiration to me.”

I am so thankful that there are some athletes that make a statement before they are interviewed after some game changing play that they accomplished on the field. Usually the statement goes like this “I would just like to give all of the glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who made all of this possible.” As Christians we need to understand that we cannot do anything without him! He did the hard part and what successes we have in life are true blessings from the one who gave everything for us! When you are suffering remember like John did of his little brother that Jesus suffered far more than we ever will. Fight the good fight knowing that it will bring a smile to his face just like John’s four touchdowns surely made Joey smile! When we are uplifted in this world remember to give God the glory because it is his trophy for inspiring us to do something we could never do on our own!

You’ll Never Walk Alone

It was such a tragedy. They called it the Hillsborough disaster of 1989. A human crush at a stadium in Sheffield South Yorkshire England injured hundreds and 96 people lost their lives. The aftermath of this tragedy cannot be overstated. Families, friends, and acquaintances were deeply affected. Through their pain a song was sang that had it’s beginnings in 1945. The song was written for a Broadway Musical and it was named “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. On the day of the tragedy 13,000 people gathered at Liverpool’s Roman Catholic Cathedral. There was only room for 5,000 inside but the other 8,000 gathered on the street outside. A lone choir boy sang You’ll Never Walk Alone as a way of inspiring the crowd to keep fighting and never give up.

You’ll Never Walk Alone

When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky
And the sweet, silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone

Gerry and The Pacemakers re-made the song in 1963. It was their own version to the lyrics from days past that became famous. The stadium in Liverpool was one of the first to have piped in music. Before their Soccer games the fans were fed the popular groups from Liverpool of that era. Those groups and songs were sung by The Beatles and yes Gerry and The Pacemakers. The latter song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was taken up as a motto for the fans and the team. Before the games fans would sing out the words to the inspiring song in unison. It got to be such a ritual that it became the teams anthem! The song brought unity to the fans, excitement and enthusiasm. Even when the team was down the fans never gave up. The song stayed in their minds and hearts. When asked which team had the best fans Liverpool was always mentioned because of their loud enthusiasm for their team! Visiting teams would come into the stadium and feel the strong bond the Liverpool faithful had with their players and each other. It made the game harder for them and made the Liverpool team give everything they had to please their great fans!

Thanks to Gerry and the Pacemakers rendition of the old song, fans from all over the world began to take it up as their theme song too! Unknown to many “You Will Never Walk Alone” has probably been sung more often than any of their rival Beatles songs of that era. Jerry And The Pacemakers, not The Beatles, had 3 number one songs on the UK charts in 1963. Each song was #1 for several months and included “How Do You Do It?”, “I Like It”, and you guessed it “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”The group also enjoyed some success in the United States as part of the British Invasion with 4 of their songs making the top 40, but unlike the Beatles they never became a U.S. legend. However in England and around the world the rendition of Gerry and the Pacemakers of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” lives on every time a soccer game is played! The themes of never give up and someone will always be there with you has never died and in fact gets stronger as the years pass by! In 1989 on the occasion of Liverpool’s trip to the finals Gerry Mardsen the groups lead singer made a personal appearance to inspire Liverpool as a team and a community!

As Christians we need to carry on the You’ll Never Walk Alone banner too. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:20 “Behold I am with you always even until the end of the age.” Just like the inspiration soccer fans everywhere get from a songs lyrics, Jesus gives us comfort forever in knowing that he is walking right by our side! When we feel crushed and in sorrow there is such strength in his everlasting words! Indeed as Christians we never walk alone! Put your trust in him and hold his hand even as life’s crushing winds come your way. You will hear and feel his Spirit telling you that I am right here with you!