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Scoring the Goal

by Jerry Ousley  
6/12/2015 / Christian Living

What a fulfilling moment. After all the training, all the hard work, all the lectures and team effort, regardless what sport in which one may be participating, it all comes down to the crack of the bat, the swoosh of the net, the ping of the puck, and the roar of the crowd. It's all about making the point. Of course we hear things like, "winning isn't everything, it's getting there," and "It's more about sportsmanship and having fun," and while these things may be exactly true, we really want to make that score and win. That is the bottom line.
I've been on the winning team but more often than not, I've been on the losing team. We can lick our wounds with all kinds of statements that help to ease the pain, but the fact is there's nothing like winning. Facts are facts.

For several weeks now we've been talking about being a successful Christian. We began with having a positive attitude. We continued with being committed. We pressed on with perseverance. We emphasized the importance of paying the price and we finished with making it happen. All of these things are very important in becoming a successful Christian.

But when we put them all together, and after we have done all the work, it comes down to the ultimate purpose and that is scoring the goal. In 2 Timothy 4:7-8, nearing the end Paul wrote, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing." He was talking about the final outcome of life. That's what we are looking for. It is scoring the goal reaching the moment that we have been preparing for, waiting for, and expectantly living in hope.

We are all running a race; it's the race of life. Only, we don't compete against each other. I remember early in my Christian experience I often wondered about the race. I had heard other ministers preach about it. But somehow in my "b-b" brain it seemed that it was unfair almost as if we were running against other believers, fighting and scratching to see who was going to come out on top. But as I grew older in the Lord I realized that we are not running against each other. We aren't in a struggle to see who's going to gain the most favor with the Lord. We are actually running against this world system this age, and the devil. Our race is not to finish first ahead of fellow believers but to outrun the evil, sin, and wickedness we are faced with each and every day. What a relief this brought to me! Now, suddenly, we don't have to be like the world and fight in our struggle to beat someone else. We can move along at the pace God has for us and still come out the winner, knowing who we are running against.

It's very important to do all of these things we've discussed in our race to be a successful Christian. But there is really no formula we can follow especially knowing that our race is an individual one. Yes, we need to help each other along the way. But the bottom line is that no one can run our race for us and it is different for each one because God created us as individuals. So doing these things will most definitely help us in our race, but when it comes right down to the nitty-gritty, the ultimate thing is the grace of God. In Philippians 1:7 Paul says that we are all partakers of God's grace. We are all dependant on the Holy Spirit. We can do everything that we can do to be all that we can be, but the totality of our works, the sum of our efforts and the completeness of our abilities are nothing without the grace that God has given us through the free gift of eternal life paid for by Jesus Christ, our Lord.

So get out there and fight. Train from God's word. Exercise yourself in prayer. Persevere, maintain a good attitude, be committed to the purpose, pay the price and make it happen. But do so under the umbrella of God's grace. You can make it to the end. You can do it. I know because when you are going in God's grace, the finish line, the home run fence, the hoop and the goal is always in your focus. With God you can make the score, and that's worth it all.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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