It's Not How You Start; It's How You Finish!

Standing behind the dugout during one of my son’s baseball games, I heard the first base coach make the following comment to a parent standing next to me: “This world has gone crazy”.  The first base coach was referring to the recent shooting incident in the library on the Florida State University campus.  After pondering his comment on this one example, I must admit that I concur.

Even the world of college football has gone crazy.  It’s not how you finish; it’s how you start!  Right?  No, wrong, but in the crazy world we live in today this seems to be the new philosophy.  The college football playoff committee seems to have adopted this philosophy while deciding the rankings of the top four teams in the country. 

Do you know how hard it is to win 28 straight games?  Have you ever, in any league at any age in any sport, won 28 straight games?  After 28 straight wins, and being the only undefeated (12-0) team in the nation, the FSU Seminoles find themselves ranked fourth in the country.  This is unprecedented in the history of college football rankings.  Never has a defending undefeated national champion team had three teams with one loss ranked ahead of them.

Why are the Seminoles ranked fourth?  They are ranked fourth because in today’s world its all about how you start instead of how you finish.  Even though they haven’t lost, the committee doesn’t think the Seminoles win good enough.  They don’t like the way they start.  I had to laugh at Coach Fisher’s comment when asked about the ranking of the Seminoles.  He said, “The object of the game is to win; it’s not figure skating.  The object of the game is to win.  You know, it’s not judging, it’s wins and losses on the scoreboard.”  Coach Fisher is saying the Seminoles ranking shouldn’t be based on how they look, but on whether or not they accomplish the objective of winning.  I concur.

It is true that the Seminoles have trailed in most of their games this year.  In fact, in their game against a 6-5 Boston College team, they kicked the winning field goal with seven seconds remaining in the game.  The Seminoles may not start well, but they sure do finish well.

What do the college football playoff rankings indicate about our current American culture?  The rankings reveal to us that we value the show over the substance.  We value the gloss over the grind.  How you look is more valued than getting the job done.

Dr. Ed Cole, who built a worldwide men’s ministry before his death, taught men the importance of character.  He used to tell a story about how he learned an important principle while shopping for furniture.  The polish they apply to it covers up the lack of quality in cheap furniture.  Dr. Cole reminded us that the higher the gloss the cheaper the merchandise. 

It seems the Seminoles don’t win with enough polish or gloss to be ranked number one.  The character and will it takes to come from behind, and finish games with a victory, seems to be irrelevant.  These character traits of the Seminole football team this year certainly aren’t reflected in the rankings in a positive manner. A pretty loss is more rewarded than an ugly win.

Legendary Coach Bobby Bowden offered his comments on the committee’s rankings. Coach Bowden emphasized the importance of finishing.  He said, “How many times have you heard a Coach say," We didn't finish"? Coaches harp on it continuously, finish, finish, finish! Coaches emphasize each practice, "finish your block", finish your Tackle, finish your run, finish the last quarter". Every team in the Top Ten failed to 'finish' their game at least one time, but not Florida State. One thing they have done is 'finish' the game. They have 'finished' 10 straight times this season and the last 28 games in a row. All the Polls now are just speculation and opinions. 28 finishes in a row is not an opinion!”  Once again, I concur.

In church, we constantly have people sign up to volunteer on one of our Impact Teams.  Our Impact Teams, which include children’s church, worship, sound team, café, first impressions, and facility, are essential in helping us facilitate a Sunday worship service with excellence.  Without exception, we frequently have people who sign up with enthusiasm, and never follow through to finish their commitment. It’s obvious they are influenced by philosophy of this age: It’s not how you finish; it’s how you start.

How many couples opt for divorce, or cheat on their spouse, and don’t finish by honoring the covenant they made before God and with their husband/wife?  How many parents abandon their children and don’t finish raising them to fulfill their God-given destiny?  How many kids don’t develop certain skills to succeed because they don’t finish when the going gets tough?  How many believers in Christ lose the power of their witness because they backslide, and don’t finish strong in their faith?  The answer is the same for all four questions: Too many!

The Bible instructs us that it’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.  It teaches we all start poorly, or in more biblical terms, we are all born into sin as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience (eating the forbidden fruit) in the Garden of Eden (Romans 5:12).

The good news is that mankind’s poor start is not the end of the story.  Jesus Christ came to earth to save us from our sins.  When we repent of our poor start in sin, put our faith in Christ to save us by His grace, get baptized and receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, we have Christ’s power to finish strong.  In fact, God is faithful to make sure we finish strong by completing the good work He began in us.  Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Apostle Paul is a perfect biblical example of “it’s not how you start; it’s how you finish”. As Saul of Tarsus, he was one of the main persecutors of Christ followers.  After his conversion on the road to Damascus, where he was blinded by light during his encounter with Jesus, he became Apostle Paul.  As an apostle of Christ, he would become one of the greatest church planters in history.  He went from church persecutor to church planter.  He experienced firsthand it’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.

After writing his first Epistle to Timothy, Paul was arrested again, in Greece or Asia Minor, and hurried back to Rome, this time as a criminal (2 Timothy 2:9).  While waiting in the Roman dungeon for “the time of his departure,” he wrote his last letter to his beloved son in the gospel, Timothy. 

The second imprisonment was very different from the first.  Then he had his own rented house; now he was kept in close confinement.  Before, he was the center of a large circle of friends, accessible to all, but now he was alone (2 Timothy 4:10-12).  Before, he had hoped for freedom; now he was expecting to die (2 Timothy 4:6).  Being uncertain whether Timothy could visit him before his death, he wanted to give him his last words of warning and encouragement so Timothy would endure to the end.  His main goal was to make sure Timothy finished strong in his faith.

Apostle Paul had finished his race, and now it was time to hand the baton to Timothy.  What ground had he covered?  Note every city or province and island in answering this question.  To how many thousands had he preached his Christ, do you suppose, in those at least thirty different localities?  In how many languages had he testified for Christ?  How many of his letters have found a place in the Christian Bible?  Are these letters still being read today?  Countless lives have been impacted by the testimony of Apostle Paul because it’s not ultimately about how he started; it’s about how he finished.

Consequently, Apostle Paul entered into eternity with confidence, contentment and expectation knowing he had finished his course.  He said, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”  2 Timothy 4:6-8

How many times do you have to sin to be a sinner?  That’s right…one.  We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  The wages of our sins is death (Romans 6:23). Left to our own solutions, there is nothing we can do about this fatal predicament.

The justice of God demands a sacrifice for man’s sin.  Jesus Christ became that sacrifice and paid the penalty for our sin at the cross.  Since God is holy, righteous, and just, He could not allow sin to go unpunished.  Since He is loving and compassionate, He did not want all of mankind to be eternally separated from Him.  The divine solution to this problem was for Jesus, God’s only Son, to become the sacrifice for sin.

But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.  Hebrews 9:26-28

What exactly happened on the cross?  Through His death on the cross, Jesus took our place and our punishment and became our substitute.  He exchanged His righteousness for our sin.  He took our curse and gave us His blessings.  Because of His sinless life, Jesus was the only one qualified to pay the penalty for man’s sin and to bridge the gap between God and man.

Entrusted with the mission of saving human beings from sin, death and eternal damnation, never in the history of the world has finishing a task been so important. All of Jesus’ ministry on earth would have been in vain if he didn’t die on the cross.  While hanging on the cross, after taking His last breath, Jesus said: “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

It is so easy in today’s world to start something and not follow through on our commitments.  In fact, unfortunately, it is now the norm instead of the exception.  Signing up is not the same as completing the task.  Good intentions are derailed by a lack of discipline.  It’s impossible to develop discipline without learning how to persevere.  Perseverance develops character, and character gives us hope (Romans 5:3-5).  Without hope, we will eventually quit and not finish well!

If you want to become all God’s created you to be, if you want to make the most of your life on earth, if you want to develop into the kind of person who can impact others in a positive way, if you want to possess an eternal perspective, if you want to grow and mature in God’s purpose for your life, and finally, if you want to bring your Eternal Father in Heaven glory on earth, you must finish!

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.  Hebrews 10:36

At the end of His ministry on earth, Jesus boldly declared: I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. (John 17:4) How fulfilling and how rewarding to know you finished!

No matter where you are in life, I’ve got some good news for you.  Are you ready?

It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish!