There's Nobody Like Him

 

By David R. Ferguson     Have you ever met someone who just left you in awe? I mean, they were so great and so wonderful that you were left shaking your head and saying, "There's nobody else like that!" Well, those kinds of meetings are rare, but they do happen occasionally, even with me. Back in 1997 when I was working as an Inside Sales Account Representative for Trans World Airlines, one of the accounts I had was with Cardinal Travel of Hazelwood, MO. This agency was founded by Dal Maxvill and Joe Hoerner. Not only were Dal Maxvill and Joe Hoerner business partners, they were also former teammates who had played on the Cardinals’ World Series teams back in 1967 and 1968, and Maxvill had been the Cardinals’ General Manager from 1985 until 1994. Many times, while working as an Account Rep I had spoken to Joe Hoerner and Dal’s sister, Pat, helping resolve problems that had arisen with their clients who were flying on TWA, or helping them with preferred seating assignments or giving them complimentary passes into the Ambassador Club at the airport. Joe and Pat had always been very cordial and grateful for the help I had been able to provide for them and their clientele, and one day out of the blue I received a call from Pat asking if I would be able to come and join her and Dal for lunch to show their appreciation. I told her I would be delighted to do so, and I asked her, “Where shall I meet you?” She said to me, “Dal and I will come by and pick you up at 11:30.” Imagine that! I was getting picked up and taken to lunch by Dal Maxvill, a baseball hero of mine when I was just 6 and 7 years old! When they arrived, I couldn’t believe that I was sitting in the seat of the brand-new Chevy Blazer being driven by Dal Maxvill, and that he was chauffeuring me to take me out for lunch! When he played baseball, Dal was a typical slick-fielding, no-hit shortstop of his era. When he retired, he held the National League career fielding record, sporting an amazing .973 mark. No one would ever accuse Dal of using steroids, though! The man hit only 6 home runs in his entire career. Even though Dal’s hitting stats were minimal, he was one of my favorite childhood baseball heroes. When I was with Dal and his sister that day, I found myself transported back in time as a 6-year-old in 1967 again, watching the Cardinals beat the Red Sox and future Hall of Fame member, Carl Yastrzemski. I was getting to meet one of my childhood heroes! There was nobody like him!     The Bible records for us the account of one such meeting that left a person in awe. In this passage, the Queen of Sheba was left in amazement after her first encounter with King Solomon. After her meeting him initially, she went away saying, "There's nobody like him!" Many years later, when Jesus was ministering here on Earth, He mentioned this very event. He spoke of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba and He reminded His listeners that He was even greater than Solomon, (Matthew 12:42). If an Earthly king left that queen astounded at his glory and greatness, how much more will King Jesus amaze those who meet Him? It’s my sincere prayer and desire that you will meet the Lord today and stand amazed before Him!

- David R. Ferguson preaches for the Mentor Church of Christ in Mentor, OH. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://mentorchurchofchrist.com/ or davidferguson61@yahoo.com