Me and Ricky down by the Schoolyard

A few Saturday nights back, I was standing by the fence watching my son play football with the Orange County All-Star (6th grade) team. Ricky was there to watch his grandson. We began to talk about the game and what was happening on the field. Slowly, we began to talk about our lives. Once I told him I was a pastor in Port Arthur, he told me that he was active in his church and worked in Port Arthur for the school system.
Over the next couple of hours we watched football. Have you ever noticed how little action actually takes place during a football game? The players would get up to the line, the ball would be snapped and our conversation hesitated for the brief 5 to 15 seconds of action. The whistle blew and we picked up right where we left off.
Our conversation centered on our faith. I had never met Ricky before, but I could tell that this was a man who really studied his Bible and he often used scripture to make a point. I was most impressed by his theological views and insights. My favorite was when he quoted the scripture about God creating people in Genesis 1:26, “God said, let us make man in our image.” It is just as the Gospel of John states, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him…” We human beings are created in the image of Jesus. We both thought the fact that Jesus is in the Old Testament is sometimes overlooked. Jesus was there from the start. I had a great time talking to Ricky. Time passed quickly as we found ourselves chatting.
Did you know that in ancient Rome when Christians were persecuted for their beliefs, they couldn’t simply walk up to just anyone and speak about their faith? In those days they had a secret sign. A Christian would walk up to a person and casually use his or her foot to sweep the dirt or dust in a semi-circle. If the other person were a Christian believer as well, they would use their foot to complete the figure. What was the figure you might ask? It was the sign of “the fish” which can often still be seen on cars and trucks today. Fortunately, we didn’t need to be secretive. Just bold enough to claim our faith. By the way, not that it matters much, but Ricky is an African-American man and I am white. What was most important was clear from our conversation…we are brothers in Christ Jesus. We also discussed racial issues and politics. It was a lousy football game… we lost. But the company was heavenly! Share your faith. We are all God’s children.