The Final Whistle
There are two completely different ways to view and live life. The most common way is to think about the many pleasures that this ginormous planet offers us. Should I go about accumulating and experiencing as many of these pleasures as is humanly possible in the time allowed? The second, less popular approach is to view this life as our one opportunity to build lasting character so we can grow with and benefit from a much longer second life opportunity. The disparity between these perspectives is even more exaggerated, since the majority of people on the planet take the second opportunity as a given, mistakenly assuming that they can do both at the same time. In truth, the second opportunity will only be offered to those who approach the first opportunity selflessly. This is not a best of seven series or a one winner take all, but rather a sudden death match. Resources here can be scarce, so we’ve learned to run faster, test smarter, wake up earlier, work and play harder, enlist a network, simply put, we’ve learned to win at any cost. That my friends is not God’s plan or influence, but Satan’s. The evil one wants us to look at life as a sprint, not as a marathon. He probably laughs each time he gets a new prospect to lie, cheat, trip or disadvantage the competition for a win, as these are the first steps toward the end that he has in mind for us. The real foe that we are matched up against every day, is evil. It’s a classic one-on-one competition but … here’s the twist, if we enlist a great coach, play well all the time and step up at critical moments, we’ll prevail. Instead of competing with our neighbors, we need to be assisting them for a team win against a common opponent. Sure we’ll be individually tested and judged at the end of the game but it’s still a team approach. Let me explain.
Let’s compare two sports, football v. track & field. Both are team competitions, but in football the team wins or loses as a unit. In track & field, each team member faces individual competitions, event records, and personal best limitations, yet a tally of team points determines the winning team. This way an athlete can individually win (events), yet his or her team may lose the match. The bible teaches us to do our personal best in the track and field scenario, but not at someone else’s expense. The very same bible holds us accountable for helping other players who should be considered teammates. God’s objective is for everybody to win individually against evil, but an ultimate team win is entirely in His hands and will be tallied at the final judgement. Let’s hope God has a great game plan, with an unrevealed play for the final minutes. In the meantime let’s play it His way, by His rules, not Satan’s. This way we can hope that He is still interested in having us all at the banquet after the final whistle. The less popular approach is the correct approach.
JC Calkins with COMMON SENSE 4 UNCOMMON PEOPLE
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