“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is
with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. “I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Revelation 22:12-13
A few weeks ago, the day of the BCS National
Championship game, I sat down to watch the re-run of the game between Alabama
and LSU. It was a hard fought game in which the good guys (the Crimson Tide)
pulled out a last minute victory on a heroic drive to win the game. I knew the
results of the game, so I sat calmly, waiting to watch the already known
pleasant outcome.
Yet that day was not completely stress free.
Although that game I was watching was already decided, I still had the
anticipation of the title game with Notre Dame looming over me. Although I was
confident in my team, the gravity of the game and the enduring uncertainty gave
me pause. I worried that the ball wouldn’t bounce our way and that an
unthinkable loss could occur. I had anxiety.
I was nervous about the game that was yet to be
decided, while I stayed completely unruffled about the already finished game I
was watching. While it only took me about five minutes of the championship to
know my team would prevail, there was some stress as long as the outcome was in
doubt. Watching a game is different when the outcome is known.
Christians are watching a different game than
non-Christians. For the unbeliever, a degree of stress and anxiety, although
inept at changing anything, is appropriate. There is no certain outcome. Only a
dark cloud awaits them in the future, and eyes are not strong enough to
penetrate into it to see what it contains. What might be divined about the
future can only be deduced from the gloom that we constantly see in our world.
This outcome can’t be known, but it must be concluded that it doesn’t look
good.
On the other hand, the believer is completely at
ease. The outcome of the gravest of games has been decided in our favor. Our
Champion has won the victors crown and now sits on the throne. He has declared
his people righteous and promised to conquer death. It is over. Done. Finished.
Complete. A total annihilation of the foe has been accomplished.
After a few minutes in the title game the outcome
had been decided. My team was going to win, and it was my joy to sit back and
watch them do it. How much greater, if we are living under a God who has given
us good promises and proven Himself able and willing to accomplish them, should
we watch him work in this world with jubilant expectation? Let us all participate
in the coming victory and continually celebrate in a manner worthy of a
heavenly Champion.
