FIVE FOR FIGHTING & FINISHING STRONG

I'm sitting in my favorite reading chair. The sun is pouring in through our huge window at about 8AM. No one else is around. I'm listening to the song "100 Years" by Five for Fighting, thinking about how quickly life goes by, and the amount of time I still might have to live. At this moment, I'm locked in on how great life is, really aware of what a gift this second of clarity might truly be.

While I'm listening to the music and the words, I'm reading about a guy who squandered a lot of his years.

He had it all. He was the king of the nation. He had a great home. He had a house full of kids. He had the respect of everyone in his kingdom and the fear of those outside his kingdom. What a great start to a great life.

But it wasn't enough.

One day as he looked over the fence, he saw a beautiful woman. It was his neighbor's wife. He wanted her too. So he did what he had always done. He took.

You can read the full story in 2 Samuel 11 and the consequences for King David's actions in the chapters that follow.

He started strong. He had been given all he needed to finish strong. But he didn't. He crashed and burned.

And because he crashed and burned, so did his family. And because his family crashed and burned, so did his kingdom.

The books of 1st and 2nd Samuel are full of strong starters who crashed and burned along the way.

Saul had been made king out of obscurity, much like David. And much like David, somewhere along the way, he didn't do what he knew he was told to do. And he paid for it. And so did his family. And so did his kingdom.

Eli & Samuel were given the great privilege of discerning God's will for the leaders, kings, and the nation of Israel. They were given the gift of being in on the secret things of God.

But they were failures in the home. And their families paid for it. And so did everyone else who lived around them.

How 'bout you? If you've only got "100 years to live", what have you got to show for it? And what are you going to do with the time that's left? 15, 22, 33...they've all passed so quickly. 45 is on the horizon for me. 67, Lord willing, will jump up faster than anyone could have expected.

So why not make a decision, right now, that you're going to make sure the finish is strong. That the end of your life will be devoted to what matters, to what will last, to the things that will make a difference in your life and the lives of those around you.

Grace & peace