There are so many sports analogies that are good applications for life: finish strong, prepare, work hard, give it all you've got, do the fundamentals well, etc. It's always amazing to see when one team is really winning big early in the game, even to the point that a fan like me yawns or tunes out; but then a fan like me checks back in later just to see...and sure enough the other team has come back from a large margin. Logic says that all the team with the lead had to do was keep doing what it had been doing and coast in for the win. That is exactly why so many coaches of losing teams preach to their team that they have to play 4 quarters or all 60 minutes. Games are won and lost in the last quarter or seconds even. You have to play to that last whistle. So what happened to that team (the one that lost that huge lead)? ---It's the same thing that happens to us, when we lose daily battles to sin (no matter how little or big it may seem). We start going through the motions of life...we stray from the basics...the fundamentals...we forget our purpose...we fall back to our default status; and default status is almost always about making us happy. These guys start shooting the ball to pad their stats (or in football start taking it easy), and forget the team game that gave them the big lead. As Christians we temporarily take our eyes off the prize and seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and live for our kingdom and look to our own righteousness. ---Break your day down. When does the tempter come calling? Surely it is different for all of us. I know for me I need to start slowly, stay steady and finish strong. Focus on Jesus and keep healthy spiritual habits, because the enemy doesn't take breaks; plus we're capable of taking breaks on our own and resetting to default status. And our default status is all about us. Keep your status: in relationship with Jesus Christ. Finish!
