God's Coaching #168

God's Coaching #168

Talk about having a cool dad. Brian Bannister’s dad, Floyd, was a Major League Baseball pitcher. But he wasn’t just any pitcher. Floyd was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1976 draft, pitched for 15 seasons, and finished with a 134–143 career record. He also appeared in the 1982 All-Star Game and the 1983 American League Championship Series. Some of Brian’s earliest memories were hanging out with Hall of Famer George Brett, slugger Bo Jackson, and pitcher Bret Saberhagen when Floyd played for the Kansas City Royals in the late 1980s.

Brian followed in his dad’s footsteps, making his major league debut in 2006 with the New York Mets. He then spent the next four seasons, coincidentally, in Kansas City. Floyd was a loving father who taught his three sons about the Bible and baseball. Floyd never pushed baseball on his sons, but they all excelled in the sport. Brian enjoyed the most success, having finished third in the 2007 American League Rookie of the Year Award voting. In 2004, Floyd even helped Brian, who studied art and design in college, start a photo studio called Loft 19 in Phoenix, Arizona.

What’s the Score?

Because of his demanding baseball schedule, Brian doesn’t get to see much of Floyd on Father’s Day, which is celebrated on the third Sunday of June. But Brian and Floyd remain close and share a deep love for each other.

The greatest love in the universe between father and son is seen in the Bible between God the Father and Jesus Christ. God expresses his love for his Son in passages like Matthew 3:17 (Jesus’ baptism) and Matthew 17:5 (Jesus’ Transfiguration). But despite God’s perfect love for his Son, he was still willing to sacrifice him for our sins. This amazing love for us is seen in John 3:16, “God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Maybe as you read about Floyd and Brian, you have a loving, supportive father. Sadly, some of you do not. But regardless of your family situation, you have a loving heavenly Father who spared nothing, not even his own sinless Son, to bring you near to him. This is reason for praise to God—not only on Father’s Day, but every day!

On the Ball

Write a Father’s Day card to God, thanking him for being an indescribably loving heavenly Father.

Coach’s Comment

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16