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In the movie "Rocky," the title
character is a never-has-been boxer who dreams of making it big some day. Through
an improbable chain of events he gets the chance to fight against a world champ.
After some intense introspection, this nice guy boxer decides to take on the challenge.
In a surprise turn of events, Rocky realizes on
the night before the fight that he can't win. However, he doesn't give
up, instead he sets
his sights on being the first fighter to simply go the distance with the
champ. He takes a terrific
beating but wins the moral victory.
Although winning is certainly a worthy goal
in sports, some of Paul's last recorded words remind us that a godly goal
is other than that.
Paul wrote (verse
7) "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have
kept the faith!" He
doesn't speak of thrashing the Devil or defeating sin, his emphasis is
on finishing well:
completing the rounds, finishing the race
and not wavering from the faith in the process.
We are not in competition with other believers. Winning is
not the goal. Try to keep your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews
12:1-2) and finish well as Paul did. The price is the Lord's wonderful
words directed at you... "Well done (Luke
19:17)!"
All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise
noted.
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Fight
