Paul Random

‘If’

Few two-letter words in the English language can conjure up, in the proper context, more emotion, whether dread or delight, or reveal the inanity of a circumstance or situation, than the word “if.”

A subordinating conjunction, it usually sets up a potential condition – that something can or might happen – but only “if” something else happens.

It was the English poet Rudyard Kipling who penned the famous poem, “If” – advice from a father to a son.

Not surprisingly, the word “if” is in the Bible a lot – 1,637 times, in fact. That’s because while God is sovereign and in complete control, we’re not puppets on strings. Our actions matter. We can make a difference. If we step forward in faith, the Lord will always be by our side. If He so chooses, He can use us as His hands and feet on earth.

Here are just a few of those “if” verses in Scripture:

“If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6).

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

Many of the powerful “if” verses contain wonderful promises – and sober warnings.

The word “if” can also bluntly and boldly challenge the status quo, especially foolish policies and false narratives that are repeated so often that they begin to somehow masquerade as truth.

For example:

If the principle of free choice is such a fundamental conviction of radical abortion supporters, why don’t they also advocate for school choice?

If a preborn child is a “fetus” and not a “baby,” why do even liberal mothers talk about their baby and go to baby showers?

If every death was rightly grieved during the COVID-19 pandemic, why is there no interest and empathy on the Left for the thousands of babies dying every day in the United States by abortion?

If gender is merely a social construct and a personal decision, why do the same people who believe that same wicked lie herald and hail women’s achievements?

If women are to be protected, why do those who hold to such a conviction not object to men overpowering and spiking volleyballs in the face of female athletes?

If police aren’t worth funding, why do the same people who support such nonsensical policies hire off duty police or private security in order to protect themselves?

If it’s a “hate crime” when sexually confused people are harassed, why isn’t it also a hate crime when pregnancy resource centers are attacked?

If tolerance is such a high virtue, why don’t ideological radicals tolerate those who hold to a biblical worldview?

If a wall at the southern border is inherently racist and ineffective, why is there one around the White House?

It was the Founding Father Thomas Paine who warned about politicians beginning their careers with hypocrisy, ruling with arrogance, and finishing with contempt. It’s that trifecta of flaws, punctuated by spiritual blindness, that’s driving the illogic of radical activists.

As Christians, we should be convicted, challenged, and comforted by another “If” verse in the Bible – Paul’s words to believers in Rome:

“If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Romans 14:8).

Image from Shutterstock.

Big Families Have More Fun

It was like a scene straight out of Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life.

On a cold Christmas Eve afternoon, as snowflakes began to swirl in the air, I made my way across our suburban Long Island street and up onto the front porch of our neighbor’s large green house. My father had sent me to deliver one of his pumpkin breads, his traditional holiday gift to family friends.

The McKees were our neighbors my entire childhood. With 8 children, there was always something interesting going on at their place. Christmas was certainly no exception. It was the family’s tradition to buy their tree on December 24 – something of a money-saving tactic they had parlayed into a fun and memorable occasion.

The children would make their way to a tree stand a block away in the parking lot of Nunley’s, a neighborhood amusement park. Nunley’s featured, among other rides, an ornate 1912 carousel. The tree stand outside the tall, white pavilion was like the one in your hometown: white lights dangling from poles, a fire roaring in a metal drum to keep the proprietor and customers warm, and what seemed like hundreds of trees to choose from.

After making their selection, the McKee kids would then carry the tree home together, singing Christmas carols as they walked. I happened to be on the front porch that one year as they arrived with it as the snow fell. They were laughing and cutting up as they came up the path.

Following them into the house, the mood was festive. Mrs. McKee had been awaiting their arrival. Mr. McKee had died years earlier, a tragic blow they had managed to weather, something they attributed to God’s grace. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace, and fresh cookies straight out of the oven.

As the youngest of five children, I was no stranger to large and happy families, but the scene has stuck with me my whole life. There was joy in that room, delight drawn from love and family and a shared sense of brothers and sisters being committed to one another. They weren’t just siblings, but also friends.

The population bust is the existential threat facing the world, and especially America. Most people are ignoring it altogether, and if it is mentioned, it’s often framed in cold, sterile, sociological terms and statistics. We read about fertility and replacement rates. We hear about demographics and economics.

All of these layers are important components of the issue. They’re pieces of a complex puzzle.

But it’s a huge miss if we don’t also stress and highlight the sheer fun and joy of big families.

All too often we hear about the high financial costs of raising children. We’re browbeaten with the supposed mental and emotional strains kids put on moms and dads.

Instead, as Christians, we should be focusing on images like the McKee’s living room on Christmas Eve. We should be talking about a house bursting with family on Thanksgiving, siblings arguing over who’s going to sit at the children’s table.

Then there are the summer camping trips, the backyard barbeque on the Fourth of July, touch football games, and taking up an entire pew at church. There are birthdays and anniversaries. Then there are the ordinary days where nothing exciting might seem to happen – but where bonds are established, and friendships are forged.

Big families teach patience – like having to wait your turn to use the bathroom. They train you to share what you have and be grateful for what you receive. Large families remind you the world doesn’t revolve around you and your whims. You learn how to compromise and how to forgive.

With a large family, you almost always have someone to play with when you’re young – and someone to confide in when you grow up. They bless you with memories that will last a lifetime – and hopefully sow the seed that you’ll want to pray for a big family when it’s time to have your own.

As Christians, we should be the most vocal and most effective promoters of God’s gift of marriage and children – and we do that by modeling the blessings of a happy and fun family.

Image credit: RKO Radio Pictures

Remembering Mickey Mantle’s Deathbed Conversion

There is something magical about October baseball, perhaps because its seasonal arc seems perfectly positioned and scripted for the drama of life itself.

It was the late Bart Giamatti, the Yale president turned baseball commissioner, who so poignantly observed:

The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone.

An extra round of playoffs has shortened the loneliness of fall a bit, but the opening of the World Series this weekend between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers is something of a nostalgic reunion. The Dodgers and Yankees have previously met 11 times in the Fall Classic, the most of any other franchise match up. 

Growing up in New York, my Yankee-fan father waxed poetic about those epic Subway Series of the 1940s and 50s. He’d talk about racing home from school to listen on the radio or standing on the sidewalk in front of a Manhattan television store catching updates through the sets in the window.

My dad’s two favorite Yankees were Hall of Famer’s Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. He once ran into Joe at the Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami Beach. Joe was predictably debonair and gracious. Sadly, my father’s one Mickey encounter was less idyllic, talking with the intoxicated former star outside his restaurant across from New York City’s Central Park.

Linked forever as legendary centerfielders for the New York Yankees (Mickey’s first year was Joe’s last), both men’s faith journeys made news over the years. DiMaggio, a cradle Catholic, at times sparred with the leadership of his church. After marrying and then divorcing Marilyn Monroe, New York’s Archbishop Fulton Sheen told the Yankee Clipper, “You had no right marrying her in the first place.” An upset DiMaggio responded defiantly, and although he never spoke to Bishop Sheen again, he continued to attend Mass regularly.

My father had caught Mickey Mantle at a low point, the former slugger weakened by the ravages of alcoholism. It wasn’t until 1994 that The Mick finally tackled the addiction, checking into the Betty Ford Clinic. He wound up receiving a liver transplant the following summer, but it was too late. Dying, Mantle phoned his friend and old teammate Bobby Richardson and invited the team’s former second baseman for a visit. A devout Christian, Richardson enthusiastically agreed.

“I can’t wait to tell you this,” Mantle told Richardson when his friend arrived inside his hospital room. “I want you to know that I’m a Christian. I’ve accepted Christ as my Savior.”

Taking no chances, Bobby Richardson, who is now 89 years old, and who had previously witnessed unsuccessfully to his teammate, wanted to make sure his conversion was real. 

“Mickey, you and I are both sinners,” he responded. “We are in that same category. And the Bible says there’s a penalty involved. ‘The wages of sin is death’ — eternal death. The good news is that Christ died for our sins. He was buried, and He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures. That day as a young boy, I responded to ask God to forgive me and for my sins, and I received Him as Lord and Savior of my life.”

“That’s just what I’ve done,” Mickey assured his friend. “I have received Jesus Christ as my Savior.”

Mantle’s deathbed conversion came to mind recently watching Charlie Rose interview longtime NBC sports broadcaster Bob Costas. At 82 years old, Rose, the former PBS broadcaster, was abruptly cancelled in 2017 after accusations of repeated sexual harassment claims. He’s been quietly trying to make a comeback online.  

A fanatical Mantle fan, Costas carried the Yankees’ centerfielder’s baseball card in his wallet for decades. Over the years, they became friends, so much so that Costas was invited to eulogize Mantle at his funeral.

Speaking with Rose, Costas recalled a memorable dinner he hosted in his St. Louis home with both Mantle and Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial. It was around the same time my father bumped into the inebriated Mick in New York City. 

Here’s how Costas described it:

Mickey was having a very tough time in his life. It was before he went to Betty Ford. He was drinking heavily.
We had a dinner, and I decided that it would make Mickey comfortable if people he knew were there, so we invited Stan and Lil (Stan’s wife) for dinner; and Mickey said, “I don’t know how I’m gonna do it, but I’m not gonna have a single drink all day today or all night out of respect for Stan. I don’t wanna do anything foolish when Stan is here.”
And the night went on and many laughs were had, and stories were told. And then after everyone left and everyone else had gone to sleep, it was just me and Mickey sitting there talking well after midnight. And Mickey Mantle, who was a flawed but somehow always lovable man, said something that was searingly honest and also in its own way eloquent. 
He said, “You know, I had as much ability as Stan, maybe more. Nobody had more power than me, nobody could run any faster than me. But Stan was a better player than me because he’s a better man than me. Because he got everything out of his life and out of his ability that he could, and he’ll never have to live with all the regret that I live with.”

When Stan Musial passed away in 2013 at the age of 92, New York’s Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan, a lifelong Cardinals fan, called his St. Louis hero, “A great American, a great baseball player, a great Catholic.”

Mickey Mantle was right that a great life comes from being a good man. But most importantly, he learned that eternal life comes not from doing, but from accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life.

It remains to be seen how epic this 120th World Series will be, but Christian fans, especially, have inspiring player storylines to follow. From the Yankees’ home run king Aaron Judge, who points to Christ after each blast, to star reliever Luke Weaver’s “Bible glove” to the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, who prays before he plays, there will be a refreshing Christian witness on the diamond.

Let the leaves fall and the chilly nights descend as winter knocks on the door. Let’s play ball!

Image credit: National Baseball Hall of Fame

In Praise of Dead Pastors Who Still Preach

October, or “Pastor Appreciation Month,” is nearing its end, a wonderful occasion started by the late Reverend Dr. H.B. London, Focus on the Family’s “Pastor to Pastors.”

H.B. stepped away from the demands of day-to-day pastoring in Pasadena, California, after his cousin, Focus founder Dr. James Dobson, asked him to come to Colorado Springs and minister to those ministering to millions. Dr. Dobson saw the pressure many were under. His own father had been a pastor, and he understood full well the challenges they faced.

Over 30 years later, the shepherds of our churches remain in culture’s crosshairs. Many are bi-vocational, juggling spreadsheets during the day and preparing sermons at night or making hospital and home visits whenever the schedule will allow.

If you haven’t recently thanked your pastor, this would be a good time to do it. A simple card and heartfelt word would be greatly appreciated and go a very long way. 

But there’s a whole legion of pastors many of us appreciate for whom no card or note will be necessary. These giants of the faith don’t need our praise. In fact, they don’t require anything.

These are the saints of yesterday, pastors who were rewarded their rest – and yet continue to preach to us from beyond the grave.

For older Christians who grew up in the Church, there’s likely a pastor who comes to mind – that minister who complemented your parents’ teachings and who might have seemed larger than life to your younger self.

Joseph Lawlor was my childhood pastor. He’s long gone, but I still think of him. To be fair, Pastor Lawlor was brusque and direct. He’d fuss at people for standing in the back of the church while he preached. When he retired, I portrayed him in a school “This is Your Life” production. We later became friends. I found his sincerity and integrity inspiring.

I credit him with nurturing and shaping my new and tender Christian faith. Perhaps the most powerful thing he did for me was model what a good shepherd looked like. 

There are a whole host of other pastors who continue to teach and preach, even though they’ve been gone for years – even decades and centuries. This is the power of a changed life that carries and manifests the teaching. It’s also the power of the sermon, whether recorded or transcribed. This is also the reach of books, tools that capture and preserve unique thoughts and insights. Books might be inanimate things – but they animate, inspire, and instigate action.

Just the other day I was listening to a message preached by the late Warren Wiersbe who pastored Moody Church in Chicago. The message was decades old, but his perspective was fresh.

“There are two outward tests of a person’s character,” he observed. “Find out what makes him laugh, and find out what makes him cry.”

Every person who’s dating should remember that one.

Do you ever get frustrated with the way lies are traded as truth, especially during this political campaign? I just heard Dr. Adrian Rogers, who died in 2004, and who pastored Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, say:

“A Christian with a testimony is never at the mercy of an infidel with an argument.” Dr. Rogers was right.

Dr. Bryant Kirkland was the longtime minister of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City between 1962 and 1987. Thanks to podcasting, I recently heard him give a convicting message on the fragility of life.

“Even with the increasing longevity of man’s life, his span on earth is not long enough to fulfill our heart’s desires,” he suggested. Dr. Kirkland was echoing a reminder from C.S. Lewis, another influential deceased “pastor” who left behind this golden nugget:

If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.

William Bell Riley was another pastor of another era. Born in 1861, “W.B.” was nicknamed “The Grand Old Man of Fundamentalism.” He was once asked how he knew a pastor was really preaching and not just giving a speech. 

“It’s when my heart is so warmed by what has been said that I must go out and do what has been assigned,” he stated.

Then there’s the late Vance Havner, a delightful itinerant preacher whose timeless messages from decades ago still help frame and explain life in 2024:

The devil is out to disable the body and deceive the mind and discourage the spirit. He tells sinners they’re saved, and he tells Christians they’re lost, and he gets everybody upset. 

Vance Havner would have enjoyed Pastor Appreciation Month, but I don’t think he would have wanted to linger for too long on any celebration. 

Citing 2 Corinthians 11:2, Havner stated, “A true pastor must not only feed the flock, he must warn the flock. He must not only be zealous, but jealous.”

Whether still on earth or in Heaven, we give thanks for our pastors.

Image credit: Focus on the Family / Love Worth Finding / Wikipedia