Beyond the Legend (Friday Devotional)

 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell

- Colossians 1:15-19

The hardest throwing pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball isn’t in the Hall of Fame. His jersey number isn’t retired by any of the teams he played for. In fact, chances are you’ve never even heard of him. But those who saw him throw insist that no one—not Bob Feller, not Sandy Koufax, not Nolan Ryan—could match Steve Dalkowski’s fastball.

Dalkowski signed with the Baltimore Orioles out of high school in 1957, and it quickly became apparent that he could blow by hitters any time he wanted—if he could get the ball over the plate. Unfortunately, he was up front about the fact that he rarely knew where the ball was going when he released it, and he often walked more batters than he struck out. Eventually, after nine seasons spent entirely in the minor leagues, Dalkowski hung up his spikes for good, never able to find the necessary control to pair with his power. But that power was more enough to make his mark.

In the days since, the legend of Steve Dalkowski has only grown. Interviews have been conducted with his former coaches and teammates, countless anecdotes have been shared, and researchers have pored over the inconclusive results of a test he participated in to determine how fast he was throwing. But remarkably, no video footage exists of him pitching—not even a few seconds of grainy black-and-white tape. People continue to speculate to this day about how fast he threw—100 mph? 105 mph? 110 mph? For all the stories, we’ll probably never know.

Many people think of God in similar terms, as a sort of mythic figure who is great but unknowable. They don’t necessarily dispute his existence, but wonder if the stories are overblown. They just wish we had some footage of God at work.

In Christ, God gave us just that—Jesus is the Word made flesh, the image of the invisible God. Through Christ we learn the character and priorities and power of God; by knowing Jesus we know God. For those who want to know what God is like, they need only look to Jesus.

There is much about God that is beyond our understanding, but the Lord is not so distant as we have been led to believe. We don’t have to settle for stories and rumors—He gave us His Son.