I can honestly say it was the only sporting event I have ever attended with a spiritual component! I was sitting in the left-field stands in Baltimore’s Camden Yards Stadium on September 6, 1995, when Cal Ripken broke the longest and most challenging baseball record to achieve, Lou Gehrig’s 2130 consecutive streak of playing in a game.

The stadium was packed, and the anticipation of witnessing, live, a feat that no one thought possible to break, had reached it zenith, when after five and a half innings, the length at which a professional baseball game is declared ‘official,’ Cal Ripken was pushed out of the dugout and onto the field and waved to the cheering soldout crowd. The flash of camera lights in the stands lit up the whole stadium. It seemed as if we were momentarily on a shooting star! The roar of the crowd and flashing lights were magnificent to behold. Suddenly, without warning Ripken’s teammates pushed him onward and he began a slow trot around the entire playing field, shaking and slapping hands with all the fans. The sound was deafening!

And then it happened! My eyes grew moist, and I felt my heart race as if it were to burst with joy! And I couldn’t figure out why until Ripkin was halfway round the stadium outfield, headed toward the left-field stands where I stood. And then this inspired thought came to my mind as I watched and soaked in the moment. Was this a taste of what it must be like when someone dies and emerges from the dugout called earth to the glorious sounds of angels welcoming them home while hearing the voice of thunder, declaring, “Well done, my good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord?”

I don’t know what happens when we cross to the other side, but I’m sure that man’s glory is far below the glory of God. But I think I captured a glimpse of heavenly glory on the humid night of ‘2131’ in September of 1995!