“It’s not how you start the game. It’s how you finish.” -John Wooden
Basketball games have quarters, except in men’s college basketball, they have halves. Baseball games have innings. Hockey games have periods. Golf has the front nine and the back nine. In certain track and field events there are laps. In marathons races, there are miles. Let’s generalize all these observation, using one statement: “In many sporting events, there are phases in a contest.” The quote above is from John Wooden, the great, former coach of UCLA championship basketball teams. His quote serves as an appropriate springboard into today’s meditation since it is the month where March Madness is being played out, and TV airways are filled with the broadcast of basketball games. God is not to be left out and He is broadcasting this morning, presenting us with a new challenge or at the minimum a challenge to be viewed from a new perspective.
To start our week, whether we have decades of life to live or if we are on the declining side of being considered in the middle age category; whether we have a full head of growing hair or we, without an option, have to go with the bald look, or a shorter style, it really does not matter. For the challenge from above is applicable for all, and should be a plan to govern our remaining days. We are all in our “finish phase” of life. And in this finish phase, let us apply the wisdom shared by the famous coach above in all the minutes, days, and years that lie ahead. Yes, let us look at the life ahead of us, applying his words, “It’s not how you start the game. It’s how you finish.” For clarity, to make certain you understand this is not targeted at any particular age level, know that the finish phase may stretch over a long period of time, praise the Lord, and regardless of the length of such a period, whether you are one or one hundred and one, you are being challenged to go forward, giving it your best effort in this new phase, the “finish phase” that starts right now.
Young and old alike, hear this admonition. Finish the Christian race we are running strong. Persist to make perfect progress, even in the midst of problems! Present yourself in a new way, looking past your mess-ups, misgiving, many transgressions, and memories where you would do it better if you knew then what you know now about how the Lord’s expectations, and how He excels in helping you avoid failings and keep you from falling. Yes, forget all your issues that were issued discharge papers, not some temporary layoff, but a permanent release, so we can really, repeatedly let Christ be the head of our lives! Oh, we can acknowledge that we were not always where we are now, committed to the climb, but praise God again for His mercy, praise God for His grace, and thank Him for the awesome work that He has done on you to get you to where you are now. Flashback if you must, but do that quickly, for we must focus, starting right now, realizing it is how we finish the race that counts! And like you, my start in the race might not have earned a “Well done” performance appraisal from the Lord, but I know that its is how I finish that is most important. The same is true for you.
So, from this point, run as to win the race. Run, looking ahead to the victory that awaits you! Run, fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith! We are all in the finish phase and each of us must finish well. I hope you see this from an optimistic perspective and as an opportunity to demonstrate to the world, that we are children of the Most High God! We are among those who have been born again! We are His witnesses!
One more piece of advice. I read a framed quote at a local elementary school in our community last Friday evening. I may not be able to give it to you word for word, but this is the essence of what it said. Winning does not always mean being first, but it means giving it your best to be better. How about it! Let’s start the “finish phase” dedicated to winning every single day…better than we did the day before. That should be a pattern for us.
Are you motivated? Are you made ready to start the day? I know you are! So, get going! Let’s finish strong! Be blessed!
“Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” (Hebrews 12:1-3 The Message Bible)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King