Missing the point after

Sunday, January 2, 2011

I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself. 1 Corinthians 9:26 (The Message)

I’m writing this before the kick off of the Colts Titans game ( do or die for both teams), so I have no direct or indirect meaning for my words other than the thought “close enough isn’t good enough.” I’ve seen a lot of games of all types won/lost by just one point. Seems so sad that all the tremendous effort put out in a game can come down to one missed or blocked kick, on free throw or inches that would have made a two pointer a three pointer, a double instead of a triple. But that is the way it works out in sports, every point every goal, every run is critical.

I’ve never been very athletic, I like to tell the story that I think I was the only boy to ever be cut from my elementary school basketball team; all legs no coordination or game perspective. When I ran track and cross country in High School though, I can vividly remember having been passed at the finish line and wondering, could I have given just an extra ounce of effort and prevented that kid from passing? The lesson I’ve learned is that every point, every millisecond counts and once the time to get it is past, that opportunity is gone forever. I have use that moment to its advantage or it’s lost to history.

In life there are so many opportunities to make a extra difference in the final outcome of eternity for myself and for others; giving a little bit more of myself, my resources and my prayers, instead of sitting back and being satisfied with my good effort. Putting my best effort into the race for the finish line (a place in heaven with God), as Paul so eloquently put it, requires my all out effort every day, every moment, not being satisfied with that touch down, but giving my all to get that point after too!

Bless you brothers, live this day in peace, in His Word.