You Play Until The Final Whistle...

   I sat with millions of others last night watching the 48th annual "Super Bowl" and I did so with startling amazement!  I really did not care who won the game, but I did hope to see a great display of talent and sportsmanship from two great teams.  Of course, the real reason I wanted to see this game was because of the Denver Bronco's quarterback, Peyton Manning.  Having watched him for years play some of the most outstanding games any quarterback ever played, I just knew that last night it was going to be another magnificent performance.  I was not ready for what happened!
   The more I watched the game and pass after pass soared over receivers' outstretched arms or bounced on the turf right in front of them, the more I realized that this was not "Peyton Manning's Night!"  I am taking nothing away from an outstanding performance by the Seahawks defense because they played incredibly well...well enough to win and win BIG!  After sixty minutes of interceptions and fumbles there was no doubt about the outcome!
   Now that I have had twenty-four hours to think about it the more I realize that life is a lot like that game!  I have thrown my interceptions and have dropped the ball many times.  Sometimes it is not my throw that was bad, but the way someone else denied me the chance to complete a task.  I have not always awkwardly fumbled the ball, but someone knocked the ball out of my hands.  That's life!  There are always those detractors trying to make us failures and often they succeed! 
   Notice though that Manning and the Broncos kept playing for the full sixty minutes!  The game was out of reach long before the final whistle was blown, but they were still trying to score until the referee blew his whistle and declared, "Game over!"  I, too, must keep playing the game of life until it is over...completely over!  Regardless of the momentary failures, I must keep moving!  The only way I can win is by still playing until the "final whistle!"  Then, only then, will I win by the grace of God!
   You see, I am not playing for the Lombardi trophy, but for the prize above all prizes...Heaven!  A prize that I have been promised if I am "...faithful even until death."  Will I play the "perfect" game? Never.  Can I play until the game is over?  Absolutely!  I hope we all win the "crown of life!"