Sin To Win

When Michael Jordan played for the Chicago Bulls, they had a great run of six world championships. However, during that first championship series against the L.A. Lakers, nothing was certain. In fact, if you know the history of Chicago sports, then you know that the word “choke!” is synonymous with Chicago teams. They could be up by a wide margin but still allow victory to slip away or a playoff series to fade from their grip.

So, as life would have it, instead of being able to watch what could be the title-clinching game, I had a church commitment. You know what I did—I taped the game so that I could watch it later.

But you may be surprised by what I did when I watched the tape. I fast-forwarded to the end of the game! Most people don’t want anyone to tell them the end. It would spoil all the fun of watching.

Remember the movie Air Force One starring Harrison Ford? Playing the role of the President, Ford’s character was a University of Michigan graduate. His people taped the big Michigan versus Michigan State football game. Of course, the President swore everyone to secrecy. He wanted to watch the game without knowing the outcome. Then someone spoiled the whole experience for him when they inadvertently congratulated him on his team’s victory.

That’s not me. I get far too nervous. But no nerves could survive when I fast-forwarded to the end of the game and saw that the Bulls had won.

So now, I rewound the tape to the beginning. When the Bulls were down at half-time; I was relaxed. When they were tied with three minutes left; I was relaxed. Nothing could shake the foundations of my confidence because I had watched the end of the game; I had read the end of the story and I knew the Bulls had won.

Read the End of the Story

Spiritually-speaking, I’ve read the end of the story—the Bible story. And … God wins! Though life is hard; we win. Though we suffer excruciating pain; we win. Though we battle against sin; we win.

Nothing should shake the foundations of our confidence because we have read the end of the story. God wins. Good triumphs over evil. God triumphs once and forever over the devil. Death, sin, and suffering are destroyed forever.

Never forget in your life: we’ve read the end of the story! We win! When we remember to read the end of God’s story, then God opens the eyes of our hearts to see our day-by-day story in a new light. Our eternal future addresses the question, “Where am I headed?” The biblical answer to that question ought to impact drastically how we live today.