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Winning – in Life

Winning – in Life. 2 Timothy 4.7

This afternoon, I watched the USA defeat Ghana at the World Cup, in what many called a grudge match; you see, while Ghana and the U.S. have only faced each other twice on the football field, (both times in World Cup matches) … both times were in eliminators … and both times, Ghana has won.¹ There were yellow cards, there were penalties, there were injuries—particularly on the American team—but the red, white and blue prevailed.

’And this picture? It is the motto for my Dylan’s MMA² gym, which I lifted right off his behind, snapping a picture of his sweatpants earlier today. ‘Fight strong … Finish strong’ is their mantra. Dylan, 19, knows what it means to fight his way to the top of a sport; he has done it in baseball, body boarding, and soccer goalkeeping. And now? His goal is to work, train, compete and fight his way to the top again. ‘Fight strong’ and ‘Finish strong’ aptly form his m.o.

What is the mantra of the person who champions the cause of the gospel, and gives everything he knows to be, give and do for the cause of Christ?

It would have to look something like the apostle Paul’s:

I have fought a good fight

I have finished my course

I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4.7

Was it a three-sentence autobiography? Certainly, as he was coming to the end of his life—knowing that his time had run out with the Nero-Roman-ruled government, he was thinking about the sum total of his years on earth. He knew he would soon stand before Jesus. Oh, I feel such great admiration and gratitude for this man Paul—his life, testimony and writings.

If you were in the last year or two of your life, what three lines would you like to sum up your life? Now certainly I have asked that question in different ways at times, but it always serves as a great opportunity to stop and consider ~

Am I on track with God’s plan for my life, (as best I understand it)?

Am I on target for my own plan?

Do I even have a plan?

The writer of Proverbs wrote, ‘Without a plan [or a vision], the people perish.’³ Paul clearly had a plan to live his life all out, fully committed to the cause of Jesus. He said ‘I have fought a good fight’ … living life at full tilt, fully committed and with no holds barred. ‘I have finished my course’ … he knew that his time for fighting was drawing to a close, and he judges himself with how he has done … in the course of God’s plan for him and his sold-out life strategy—truth be told, he had successfully stayed at his post, and he had remained faithful.

I know a few people who appear to be on their last lap before heading into the home stretch, but I know many more people who have several laps yet to go--what a great opportunity to think, ‘how do I wanna finish?’ And for me personally, what does finishing strong look like? Like Paul, we surely want to finish with our faith at it s strongest point ever. We want to feel a sense that Jesus is about to welcome us home, and he is going to say, ‘Well done, good and faithful ones!’

We’re called to stand and fight. And in so doing, remain faithful and firmly grounded in Jesus. Amen.

Christine

PastorWoman.com

^{1 – www.espnfc.com}

^{2 – MMA – Mixed Martial Arts, San Clemente, California}

^{3 – Proverbs 29.18}

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