by James Collins
“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 22:3-5
One of my favorite writers is the great Louis L’amour. He wrote a book called Last of the Breed. In the book, the hero was in a lot of trouble. He was being chased by bad guys. He was in Alaska, freezing to death in the snow. He was starving. Things did not look like they were going to end well for the hero.
I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen. So, I looked at the back of the book. In the end, he defeated his enemies. He won.
I have also peeked at the last chapter of the last book in the Bible. Guess what? We win.
There are times you may feel defeated. There are times you may feel like a loser. However, if you’re a Christian, you’ve picked the winning team.
I always wanted to be on a winning team. The few times I played ball, we always lost. The school I went to was very small. We were not very competitive with the larger schools. Still, I wanted to play. Desperately, I wanted to be on a winning team. So, when I was in the seventh grade, I tried out for the middle school basketball team.
In my mind, I was Michael Jordan. In reality, I was the school nerd.
I was tall and skinny – 6’3” tall and 105 pounds. I would have been taller, but so much of me turned down for feet. I wore size thirteen sneakers, but my basketball shoes were too big even for my big feet. They were size fifteen second-hand rejects. I always tripped over my own big feet.
My tank top was also too big. I wore old baggy shorts that would hardly stay up. I was extremely clumsy and awkward.
Despite my lack of coordination, I made the middle school basketball team, and I sat on the bench game after game. I wanted to be a winner. I wanted to get in the game just one time.
I would sit on the bench and dream. I dreamed that the coach looked over at me and said, “Our best player has broken his leg. James, it’s all up to you.”
I ran out on the court. Someone passed me the ball. I took off down the court.
The crowd was screaming. They yelled, “There must be rockets in his shoes!”
Just as the last second ticked off the clock, I jumped up with the basketball and I slammed dunked it. We won the game!
All the cheerleaders ran out. All of them said, “James, would you be my boyfriend?” That’s what I used to sit on the bench and dream.
One time, I actually got in a game. Someone passed the ball to me. I tucked it under my arm like it was a football. I didn’t dribble. I ran for a touchdown. It was back to the bench for me.
I always wanted to be on a winning team. Thank God, I have won the victory in Christ.
The point is: The day that I repented of my sin and trusted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior; I joined a winning team. I have looked at the last chapter of the Bible and we win.
If you are on Team Jesus, then you are a winner too.
James Collins is a pastor, writer, and columnist. Find out more about his ministry at www.thepointis.net.