Original: February 10, 2008
McMinnville, OR
11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. 2 Timothy 2:11-13
America held its breath in as it watched Super Bowl Forty-Two. Would the perfect 18-0 New England Patriots be able to defeat the New York Giants and complete the greatest season in NFL history? The ’74 Dolphins had gone 17-0 beating mostly teams under 500 and the 1985 Chicago Bears had also dominated the NFL going 18-1 as Super bowl champs.
It seemed inevitable that they would crush the lesser New York rivals. Would the Patriots become be the single greatest team in NFL history?
But I sat stunned as New York dominated the defensive front, frustrating Tom Brady with their blitzing defense. Going ahead 14-10 with over a minute left it looked like the Patriots had done it again, but Eli Manning marched his team down the field and with a half a minute left hit his receiver on a fade to route a perfect season, becoming Super Bowl Forty-Two champs.
What led to the demise of the Patriots?
Arguably the greatest team in NFL history will go down in infamy as the team that did not endure. No one remembers second place, but I have a feeling that the 2007 Patriots will never be forgotten. Were they tired? Did they think it was over for them? Bill Belicleks going-for-it on fourth-and-fourteen in field goal position definitely left questions in any mind, but what was it that would cause such a great team, a team that beat the Giants a month earlier, to end without finishing?
There is more to endurance than ending. There is more than the end in endurance. It is correct to say that you have to see the “end” before you see “endurance” but you can come to the end and still fail to endure. You can reach the end but not finish well (2 Timothy 4:6-8). The Patriots had the stage set to reign as the undisputed greatest team in NFL history, instead will go down as notoriously anonymous.
Followers of Jesus are made to “reign with Him” (12). I will reign over the New Earth with my God and Savior, Jesus. I will share in His glory and partake of His inheritance – “IF” (12). There it is again, the word “if”. If is the biggest word in the dictionary and it only has only two letters. Four times in three verses it is mentioned. The word that is despised by quitters, ignored by champions, and hated by those who end but do not finish.
From the cross Jesus could have screamed, “The end” but instead he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30)! You see the end is; well, the end, but to finish is literally the end of the beginning. To have finished strong would have been the beginning of the Patriot’s reign as the greatest team in NFL history.
If I live my life well and if I finish my faith strong, then I will reign with Christ as a champion over eternity.
If is more than the end, it is the strong finish. It is the end of the beginning.
