Keep Fighting the Fight

Of course, it’s football season. I don’t know how your team might be doing this season (if you even have a team....), but let’s look back to last season for a moment. It was at about this point that everyone began talking about the New England Patriots. They were hot, undefeated and on the move. Rumors began to float around about how the possibilities of this team going undefeated and winning the Super Bowl. Well, that partially happened. For the regular season and playoffs they, indeed, went undefeated, but they didn’t win the big one. Had they won, they would have been hailed as the greatest team of all time. Instead, the '72 Dolphins remain the only undefeated world championship team.

The Patriots didn’t do it. Instead, it was Eli Manning’s year. By the way, do you remember how last season began for him? Probably not. Let’s just say it wasn’t exactly a smooth start. Several weeks into the season he was still the media's goat. He wasn't a favorite among the fans, either.

That all changed with his four consecutive playoff wins; Manning will long be remembered for last year's outstanding postseason performance. The Patriots, on the other hand, will be remembered as the team who couldn't quite go the distance - the team who went "18 and no".

Which brings me to my point. There's a sense in which life itself is much the same as a single game or a single season or even an entire athletic career. The principle is that a strong finish is more important than a strong beginning. The Giants got off to a shaky start last year, but they finished well - and that's what matters most in the game of football.

A guy named Paul wrote about ½ of the New Testament and in some of the last words he wrote he said, "The time of my death is near. I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful." (2 Timothy 4:7) What a privilege to be able to say this. He had been knocked down plenty of times during the 35 years that he served Christ. He even fell down on his own sometimes. Most important, however, is the fact that he always got back up. He kept moving forward, always with the aim of finishing well.

This is what really matters in the Christian life. The occasional defeats are inevitable, especially early on. But your focus must remain on finishing well. A strong finish can overcome a shaky start; a strong finish is more important than an impressive start.

Let me encourage you to forget about how things were, and start moving toward how you want things to be. It's too late to undo your rookie mistakes, but it's not too late finish well. The season isn't over yet.