Follow through

In fact his words could apply to several sports: Baseball, football, Golf, Tennis, bowling. Almost all these endeavors employ a motion that requires a finishing motion. Technique, concentration, commitment, conditioning and ability are worthless under the spell of a bad follow through.

The journey of life suffers under a similar dilemma. Good people of every ilk fail to deliver after the initial energy. Empty promises made on emotional appeals lie hollow when don’t carry them onward. We have all wept at the appeal to help the poor or disadvantaged — only to fail to deliver. We all know that good intentions do not substitute for sustained performance.
Red Letter Believers are people who dont just think about good things and talk about them — we do them.

Personally, I have promised to write more letters, visit more friends, smile at more children. I have purposed in my heart to give more money away and to spend more time at home. Yet most, if not all of these desires are waylaid by the tyranny of the urgent. This is simply the fact that important things in life are supplanted by the urgent things. The pressing demands of time and energy and resources draw away from the truly important things.

This is a clarion call to filter out urgent projects, deadlines, and phone messages. They must be put in proper perspective with what really matters in this life. Sometimes the important things are quite small and seemingly insignificant. Because Jean-Claude Killy, the world-famous skier, was three-tenths of a second faster than his closest competitor, he earned $3 million instead of having to settle for being a $10,000-a-year ski instructor.

Some of us often think that busyness is a sign of godliness. I contend that busyness is a sin unless it is involved in the important things of this life and eternity. The story is told of a little girl who was carrying a baby. A man walked past and asked “Isn’t that baby too heavy for you?” She replied, “No, he’s my brother” This is the work of faith. Labors of love accomplish so much more than work performed out of guilt that ends up unfinished.

Like it or not, endurance is a hallmark of the faith.

1 Cor. 13 tells us this: “And now abideth faith, hope, love.” This verse forces some questions in my mind. What really lasts? Which of our efforts will have impact beyond this empty world? Why do we spend so much time and invest so much in that which does not last? A good follow through denies the system of the world. What the world calls important — money, power, and pleasure Christianity calls a sham.

Rather than a constant spin cycle, our lives should be lived with focus and perseverance. In these days of faltering marriages, broken promises and abounding uncertainty, we can be vehicles of change. That change is for the promises we make today and their fulfillment tomorrow.