Original: December 31, 2007
McMinnville, OR
5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 2 Corinthians 1:5-6
If you are around me enough you will hear the mantra. I have seen it. I have lived it. I have experienced it. You may remember saying it in a recent entry. It is, “You do not have to be the best, you simply have to out last the rest”. In other words, in life the best one standing is often times the last one standing. It is the one who never quits, never surrenders and never says die. The runner who wins the race is the one who runs at the fastest pace for the longest distance, which of course is the finish line.
I used to wonder why didn’t make me better: A better athlete, better speaker, better father, better husband, better friend and better money maker. Have you ever wondered the same to God? But being better is not what matters to God. A man is who he is. He can only be the man that his Creator designed him to be.
“Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘He did not make me’”? Can the pot say of the potter, ‘He knows nothing’” (Isaiah 29:16)?
How often do we do just that? We bargain with God to be different than the man He made us instead of embracing who we are and growing to our maximum potential. A man is simply responsible to grow in the gifts and abilities God has given him, and never stop growing.
How often do we hear boys excuse themselves from finishing?
“If she cheats, she is gone.”
“If I do not like my job, I quit.”
“If my coach is a jerk, I am done.”
“If I don’t like the pastor, I am leaving.”
We hedge our lives with the “If-word” instead of being so determined to finish what we start no matter what “if” throws our way. Instead a man should add the word “even” to the “if” word.
“Even if she cheats, I will try to work it out.”
“Even if I hate my job, I will work my hardest.”
“Even if the pastor disappoints me, I will give.”
“Even if my marriage is hard, I will work at it to my fullest.”
“Even if everyone else quits, I will be a part of the remnant standing.”
The majority quit often. Be a part of the minority that finish strong.
