What has God Given Us?
January 14, 2025
For more than 50 years, Major League Baseball players did not have their last names on the back of their jersey—just their number. But in 1960, that changed! That’s when an innovative team president named Bill Veeck thought that having a player’s name above the number would be helpful for the fans to more easily follow their favorite player. So, Veeck’s team, the Chicago White Sox[1], began adding player’s names to their road uniforms. Veeck stated, “…why keep the fans in the dark.”
Veeck’s idea seems rudimentary today, as player names now cover the back of most athletic jerseys in the world. And that’s one of the primary reasons the sports jersey business is booming! You can’t go to a Detroit Tigers game without seeing thousands of jerseys with the Old English D and a player’s name on the back.
But why are jerseys so popular? Because the name gives fans a visible way to identify with our team, and more specifically, our favorite player. When we wear our favorite team’s jersey, we represent our city, our team, and our favorite player. Similar to the way sports fans clothe themselves with high-priced jerseys to represent our favorite team, God seeks to represent Christ in our world, so He manifests His presence in the life of every believer.
John 17 records the longest prayer of Jesus’s earthly ministry. John 17:6-9 is where Jesus shifts the focus of His prayer. In the first five verses of Chapter 17, Jesus communicates with the Father in prayer. His communication is honest, doctrinal, and reveals His heart of care and concern for His people. Starting in verse 6, Jesus turns his attention to two unmatched gifts that He has provided for His people.
The first gift is what God has given to us in His Son—Jesus.
“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word… 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” -John 17: 6, 9 (ESV)
We’ve been given the gift of eternal life and freedom from sin by trusting in Jesus. And when we place our trust in Jesus, we become His. Knowing this makes the application of these verses simple and straightforward. As people of God, we are called to represent Him in our world. We are called to be God’s agents of restoration and renewal. We are his ambassadors in a faraway land—who God has chosen to bless others by making His appeal through us. He’s using sinful people like us, who have been called according to His purposes, to call people out of darkness.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9 (ESV)
Because there is a separation from God because of our sinful ways, believers must reflect upon the ways that we are representing Jesus. How do we manifest the name of Jesus in our family? How do we represent the name of Jesus in our workplace? How might God seek to use you as His ambassador in our community? As chosen people, we are not merely recipients of his grace, but ministers of His grace to the world.
The second gift is that God has given us His Word.
As we engage with the Word of God, we encounter Jesus Himself. This is why it remains a primary tool that God uses to bring men, women, and children to faith. This is why the author of Hebrews describes it with such power!
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” –Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)
The disciples traveled with Jesus, day and night, for three years. They listened to him preach to the masses. They sat under His teaching. And they journeyed alongside with Him on His earthly ministry. They received His words and then responded in faithful action.
The only way for the believers to think of God and know Him accurately is to be immersed in His word. To read it. To reflect upon it. To pray it. To talk about it with other believers.
To know God through the gift of His Son, and to know the Son through the Word of God is an amazing gift that God has given His people. The generosity God has towards His people is humbling. Ultimately, the generosity of being called to faith in Jesus, and Jesus guiding us through His Word serve as the very foundations of what it means to be a Christian. Understanding and embracing these truths should cause every believer who knows God’s amazing grace to worship Him, to cry out to God in trust-filled prayers, and to live a life worthy of our calling.
This is why the Apostle Paul exhorts followers of Christ with these words, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” (Ephesians 4:11-2)
References:
[1] https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/22539880/looking-back-storied-history-uniform-name