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Q. How are lifestyle and verbal witness related?

A. Jesus stressed the importance of obeying his commands and sharing the gospel with all who'll listen. He warned that the Father "cuts off every branch that doesn't produce fruit" (John 15:2). Some believers live moral lives, but by refusing to share the gospel, never benefit from the joy and peace Jesus offers.

Give us an example of both working together.

In 1995, the world watched baseball legend Mickey Mantle lose his battle with cancer. His hard lifestyle had been no secret. His teammates could always count on Mantle for some wild times.

Another great player for the New York Yankees during Mantle's years was second baseman Bobby Richardson, whose lifestyle was just the opposite. "Hey, Milk Drinker," Mantle recalled asking the quiet Richardson, "want to join us for cards?" The ragging about Richardson's clean-cut, Christian life continued throughout the playing careers of both men. Even so, a deep friendship developed between the two.

So when Mantle learned, 40 years later, that he was desperately ill because of his alcoholism, it wasn't his drinking buddies he called—it was Milk Drinker.

Mantle called Richardson from his hospital room. "Pray for me," he asked. Later, with days left to live, Mantle asked Richardson to visit him. Richardson came, and The New York Times sports section's front page carried this quote: "Bobby, I just wanted you to know that I've accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior."

Andy Cook is a pastor who once edited a Pulitzer Prize-winning series of sports stories.

Adapted from A Different Kind of Laughter (Kregel, 2002) by permission.

Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, shine in me and so be in me that all with whom I come in contact may know Thy presence in my soul. —John Henry Newman

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