He that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Matthew 10:22 KJV
It was a Sabbath in spring. After the church service, several of us decided to eat together in the pine forest and continue to enjoy fellowship on that beautiful sunny day. We stopped at a place where the lawn was covered with yellow daisies and a giant pine tree spread its shade.
Suddenly someone noticed a ball that was caught in the tall branches of the tree. “Who knows how long it has been up there,” my friend wondered. Whatever the answer, his mind was bent on one idea only: to succeed in getting the ball down and catching it.
How to go about it? After a quick study of the location and how the branches were arranged, he began to throw a stick at the ball. He threw one, two, five, and ten times, with no results. None of us believed he would succeed in the feat, but his wife who was sitting next to me said, "There's no way anyway. When he sets his mind on something there is nothing to put him off, he has to do it!"
Some of us encouraged him without much conviction, others laughed, and yet others accompanied his efforts in throwing with an "oops." Eventually, the stick got stuck next to the ball.
However, he was not discouraged. "I need a stone," he said. There were no rocks nearby, but by looking around he found some large, closed pine cones. He began to throw them at the ball, demonstrating remarkable aim. "Never mind!" the chorus of discouraged people was growing louder and louder. He did not listen to them, continuing to fix his gaze upward toward his goal. He shot, shot, shot... and when no one was paying attention to him anymore, the ball came down with a thud. Eeeeh! Our joyful shouts and applause were added to his smile of satisfaction as he handed the ball to his little girl: a beautiful, shiny green volleyball. He had made it!
How important it is in our lives and our spiritual life to be tenacious! To go forward with God even when everyone around us discourages us and circumstances seem to gang up against us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. Then we will have victory
“Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?” Proverbs 23:5KJV tells us. But we want to respond together with Micah 7:7 NIV: “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Saviour; my God will hear me.” And then, Jesus assures us, "The one who stands firm to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10;22 NIV).