Finishing Right!
The Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter seven, verse one, that the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth. We make much ado about the birth of a child, and rightly so. In fact, one of my assistant pastors is at the hospital right now awaiting the birth of his fourth child. Our church is waiting with eager anticipation to see this new little one make her arrival into this world. I am going in just a while to hold her and tell her that her preacher loves her. But the Bible tells us that it is more important how we finish this life than how we start.
Last week the New England Patriots played in the Superbowl to top off what had been a monumental season. They were undefeated, and all they had to do was win one more game to be the first team in NFL history to win 19 games straight with a Superbowl win. But they fell short. As great a team as they are, they will only be remembered for the fact that they couldn't finish this dream season with a win.
There have been several sports stars through the years that tried to hold on too long to a career that had once been spectacular. I remember watching the great Willie Mays trying to make a comeback and seeing him fall at the plate after dribbling a ball into the infield. It was so demeaning to see this allstar baseball player stumbling going to first base. That is one thing that I always adimired about Mickey Mantle; he went out on top at the peak of his career. You see this often in the boxing arena, where some superstar tries to hold on to his sport for just a little more money, or just a little more prestige, only to fall short and embarrass himself.
In the Bible there are some that had a great start but didn't finish right. One would be Uzziah. Uzziah was a great king who had a whole chapter in 2 Chronicles dedicated to his life. But he stumbled at the end of his life and finished as a leper under the judgment of God. Then there was Solomon, the wisest and richest man to ever live, who excelled so wonderfully only to get so far from God that God had to stir up adversaries against him. These were two great men who had God's attention and His blessings only to wind up away from the One Who gave them their success.
Thank the Lord for people like Daniel, Joseph, Elijah, and Enoch, who all finished right on target. Even King David, who had some bumps in the road, still finished with honor and dignity. The greatest example I see in the Word of God is that of the Apostle Paul. Paul finished this life saying: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." Recently we had Dr. Raymond Barber preach here at PBC. I admire him for staying by the stuff, without compromise, and being exemplary in his stand for God through the years. I, too, want to finish right. It is my request that my epitaph will one day read, "It pays to serve God." Finishing right is the thing to do, for much is at stake for the cause of Christ.
Last week the New England Patriots played in the Superbowl to top off what had been a monumental season. They were undefeated, and all they had to do was win one more game to be the first team in NFL history to win 19 games straight with a Superbowl win. But they fell short. As great a team as they are, they will only be remembered for the fact that they couldn't finish this dream season with a win.
There have been several sports stars through the years that tried to hold on too long to a career that had once been spectacular. I remember watching the great Willie Mays trying to make a comeback and seeing him fall at the plate after dribbling a ball into the infield. It was so demeaning to see this allstar baseball player stumbling going to first base. That is one thing that I always adimired about Mickey Mantle; he went out on top at the peak of his career. You see this often in the boxing arena, where some superstar tries to hold on to his sport for just a little more money, or just a little more prestige, only to fall short and embarrass himself.
In the Bible there are some that had a great start but didn't finish right. One would be Uzziah. Uzziah was a great king who had a whole chapter in 2 Chronicles dedicated to his life. But he stumbled at the end of his life and finished as a leper under the judgment of God. Then there was Solomon, the wisest and richest man to ever live, who excelled so wonderfully only to get so far from God that God had to stir up adversaries against him. These were two great men who had God's attention and His blessings only to wind up away from the One Who gave them their success.
Thank the Lord for people like Daniel, Joseph, Elijah, and Enoch, who all finished right on target. Even King David, who had some bumps in the road, still finished with honor and dignity. The greatest example I see in the Word of God is that of the Apostle Paul. Paul finished this life saying: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." Recently we had Dr. Raymond Barber preach here at PBC. I admire him for staying by the stuff, without compromise, and being exemplary in his stand for God through the years. I, too, want to finish right. It is my request that my epitaph will one day read, "It pays to serve God." Finishing right is the thing to do, for much is at stake for the cause of Christ.
posted by Dr. David A. McCoy at
12:45 PM
