Epic

So, today two amazing things have happened. The U.S. won their World Cup soccer match with a thrilling goal in the 91st minute. And then, half a world away in England, two tennis players played a match that lasted 10 hours (and still isn't even done yet.) Two epic sports events on the same day. One matters a whole lot to an entire nation. One probably matters most to those of us who love and play Tennis (although playing Wimbledon-level tennis for 10 hours is mind-boggling.) For both events, however, I come back to the same image: Don't give up.

In the World Cup match, the U.S. team wouldn't give up. After bad calls, and near misses, they never hung their heads, they never gave up. When the game moved into bonus time, 4 minutes to go before the end of their quest was over, they still didn't give up. And those Tennis players? Forget about it. It would have been so easy for one of the players to drop a game after, say, 7 hours of tennis. But neither did. They just would not give up.

Where does that strength come from? Where do you see that kind of resolve? From our Creator. The original "Don't give up", guy. No matter how many times we fall away from Him, no matter how many ways we seem to run far from Him, God just doesn't give up on us. He's always loving, always pursuing, always coming for us, until we're right where we're supposed to be, in His grip. Congrats to U.S. Soccer. Congrats to Isner and Mahut. And thanks be to God, for never, ever giving up on us.

Don't go to Church, Be the Church

Bill