"By the Inch It's a Cinch"

No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven. (Philippians 3:13-14 NLT).

I have heard it said many times that life is “hard by the mile, but a cinch by the inch. I remember reading some years ago how Vince Lombardi had often been described as the greatest football coach in modern times. He was a tremendous motivator. Before a group of sportswriters, he was once asked to explain why the Green Bay Packers won so many ball games. Everyone was expecting some profound insight into the complexities of the game of football and the unique genius of a coach who was about to unravel the mysteries of his success. Instead, his response was simple and straightforward:

Football is a game that requires you to move the ball 10 yards in four attempts. Football games are not won on 50-yard pass plays or 90-yard running plays. They are won by moving the ball 10 yards in four attempts. The other team will do everything in its power to prevent you from achieving this. So it is a game of who's best prepared. Who wants to win the most, and who never loses sight of the fact that all you have to do is move the ball 10 yards at a time.

Vince Lombardi was a winner because he never lost sight of the importance of the principle of by the inch it’s a cinch. Lombardi wasn't saying that we shouldn't have worthwhile goals. Not at all. His goal was to win football games. Our goal as Christians is to win at what God calls us to be and do. And that isn't achieved overnight. It's steady perseverance, year in and year out. As with the Apostle Paul, we don't win the prize from God until our life's work on earth is done.

I like the way the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:9-10 NLT).

Perhaps its time for you to take smaller bites of life and realize that your steady progress toward your goal is getting you closer and closer to the ultimate prize of eternal life!