The other night I went to a Jr. High girls basketball game between Washington Court House and Miami Trace. The 7th grade game was won by Miami Trace and the 8th grade by Washington Court House. I cheer for both teams so it is always good when one school wins a game and the other school wins the other. For me, it was a good evening. I noticed that it was not that way with everyone. The losing team was very disappointed while the winning team celebrated. Many of the people watching the games reacted in the same way.
Life is a series of winning and losing. No one wins all of the time, and even though it may not feel like it to some, no one loses all of the time. I have had some tough times and have had many really good times in my personal life and so have you. Life changes like the seasons of the year. Everything is in the cycle of life.
Most people have heard Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to reap; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to weep, a time to laugh; a time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, a time to refrain from embracing; a time to gain, a time to lose; a time to keep, a time to throw away; a time to tear, a time to sew; a time to keep silent, a time to speak; a time to love, a time to hate; a time of war, a time of peace.
Every one of these seasons in our life pertains to us as individuals. If we make an honest self-evaluation, we will kill the things in us that are destructive and hate those choices that are ruining our lives as we fight the wars that are in our own spirit; not a war with other people.
The one thing that is always true is that seasons come and go. We are now in the Christmas season and it is a time for celebration of the birth of the Messiah. He has brought to every one of us the ability to live life to the fullest. In this physical world we will win some and we will lose some; but if we allow the Messiah to guide our lives, every loss will be a stepping stone to victory. That is called a win-win!
These are the things we explore at the Gathering Place every Wednesday evening at 7 and Sunday morning at 9:30 and 10:30. We would love to have you join us.
