"Serving in the Shadows" by Dr. Mike Holloway

When Lou Gehrig joined the NY Yankees in 1923, no one had any idea how good of a player he would one day become. During his 16 seasons with the Yankees, he came to be known as the 'Iron Horse' because of willingness to play hurt. He set a record for consecutive games played that stood for more than 50 years. How good was he? To this day, he still holds the highest ratio of runs scored and runs batted in per 100 plate appearances among those in the Hall of Fame. He held the record for the most grand slams in a career for 75 years. He was the first MLB player to have his number retired. But the biggest surprise of all is the fact that in spite of his amazing career, he was frustrated for most of his time as a Yankee. Why? He had a teammate who had joined the team three years earlier by the name of Babe Ruth. When Ruth joined the Yankees, he started doing something that inserted excitement into a game that had been characterized more as a chess match. It was called the home run, and thanks to Ruth, baseball was never the same. Any and every time Ruth came to the plate, fans and sports writers alike were on the edge of their seat, hoping to see another Babe Ruth homer. When comparing the batting and fielding statistics of these two players, most view Gehrig as the better hitter and all-around player. But Babe Ruth is the one who got all of the attention in the media and because he cast such a huge shadow in baseball, Gehrig was forced to have his many talents remain hidden and unappreciated. A similar frustration is found in the Bible in the person of Aaron. It would seem that his biggest failure in life - the golden calf - came about because of that frustration. It appears that he was willing to do something stupid with the intent of trying to prove something in his brother's absence. He finally came to the realization that God has a place for all of us, and one of the most rewarding places of all, is in the shadow of the cross where God gets all of the glory.