I like this guy

By MARY JANE HOLT
Contribuing Writer

Yes, he has ten children, and yes, some of them were born out of wedlock. Yes, that would seem to indicate that his morals are not what some folks would tend to think they ought to be.

Yes, he hits other men and gets hit by them, for money. I’m thinking, not exactly my kinda guy.

Oh, I’ve seen televised interviews in which he has handled himself very well. And yes, I’ve heard him say things worth hearing. My younger son, who had met him a few years back, and had some degree of interaction with him at a bowling alley they both frequented, kept telling me I ought to meet Evander; that I would like him.

Still ... a fighter? An adulterer? I did not think the man was somebody I would enjoy getting to know.

I was wrong!

He’s real. He is downright refreshing! A sinner saved by grace, just like all the rest of us. I don’t know where we all get off thinking one sin is more or less than the others. But we do it, don’t we?

At least, Evander has not turned his back on his children. Not only is he raising them, loving them, caring for them, being there for them, but he still finds time to reach out to other children whose fathers and mothers have abandoned them.

He just returned from a mission trip to India. I enjoyed hearing him talk about the sparse conditions of the place where he stayed. It was not comfortable at all, but he said it was easy for him to go there and do his thing because he knew what he would be going back home to.

And then get this ... now GET it, okay? Evander equated his trip to India to being kind of like Jesus coming to Earth from Heaven. Jesus could do it, because He knew where He came from and to Whom He would be returning.

At first, his comparison took me by surprise, and I stood there thinking SILENTLY to myself, “Surely you are not comparing yourself to Jesus?”

But he was. He did. He makes scripture come to life. He applies it to real life as best he can. Not that he thinks he is like Jesus, but clearly, he wants to be.

As he spoke at length to me, I was recalling words penned by the author of the Book of Hebrews: “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

I doubt there is a Bible verse that could more appropriately describe Evander Holyfield. I’m betting this is one man who will never be so “heavenly minded that he becomes of no earthly good.” Not hardly.

Evander knows where he has come from and knows that “for a lack of knowledge the people perish.” He knows he is still growing spiritually. He is humble. He is thankful.

I am humbled. I am thankful I have met him. Thought you might want to know: there’s about to be a hundred more Holyfields! He is adopting a hundred kids in various impoverished countries all around the world. They will be given his name. He will pay for their care and education. He will do his part to be sure that those hundred kids do not “perish from a lack of knowledge.”

Of course, when Evander made reference to that scripture passage, he was speaking spiritually. But those words were coming from the lips of a man who grew up knowing how it felt to do/be without... Ah, but he was loved by a God-fearing mama who cherished him and gave him all he really needed, and then some!

She has gone on to be with the God that Evander now strives to serve. Though he can no longer give back to her for all she gave to him, he seeks to pass on the legacy she left him. He seeks to educate, to inspire, to actively care for a world beyond his own.

In doing so, it would appear that he is trying to give back to the God and Father of us all Who has blessed him with so much. Yeah, I like this guy — a lot!