History is an awesome thing. Yesterday, I had the chance to tour arguably the most historic ballpark in all of America...Fenway Park. I learned a lot of things about Fenway. I've always known and respected the Green Monster (the giant wall in left field), but that was about it. I didn't know things like it's the third smallest ballpark in all of MLB, the Green Monster was built to keep unpaying fans watching the games from the roofs of their houses and buildings, Ted Williams hit the longest homerun in the ballparks history (502 feet) into the right field stands and the seat where it landed is commemorated by a red seatback (http://www.boston.com/sports/redsox/williams/stories/in_right_field_its_a_true_seat_of_power.shtml), the five streets that surrounded Fenway when it was built in 1912 are the same five streets that are there today, the curse of the Bambino (when the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees) also involved a sell-off of over 20 top notch players that made the Red Sox go from champions to bottom feeders for decades to come, the Yankees were the first team the Red Sox beat in Fenway, the first 10 rows behind homeplate are closer to the batter than the pitcher is (very intimate park...everyone seems close to the field).
It was very cool to stand inside of Fenway and soak in the history. Our tour guide was a lifelong Red Sox fan and it was evident. He loved his team. He loved his park. He loved his job. He really knew his stuff. It was his life! It was refreshing to spend time with someone who was that authentic! He respected everyone around him no matter the team they rooted for (even for the 3 or 4 Yankee fans that were on the tour), but there was no doubt that he was part of the Red Sox nation through and through. He knew them. He shared them. He loved them. He lived them.
Mark 12:30, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."
Love is the foundation of everything that is God. He is love. He commands love. We (Christians) are set apart from the world through our love...at least that's the theory. Love is a command found everywhere in the Bible...Old Testament (Deut. 6:5) and New Testament (see above). Is love for others the foundation of your life? Does it define you? Do you know it...teach it...display it...live it? Let love be your passion and your life. That's the history and power of God that should be evident through us!
Thanks for the passion Red Sox nation! Go Tigers! Stay strong!
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