One of my favorite movie lines comes from “A League of Their Own.” When one of the female baseball players starts to cry, their manager played by Tom Hanks whines, “There’s no crying in baseball!”
Every time I hear that line it makes me laugh.
This morning as I was working on my message for Sunday, I was reminded of that line … and I paraphrased it as “There’s no quitting in Christianity!”
Paul, in his advice to Timothy said it this way. “Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” [2 Timothy 2:6-7 HCSB]
Paul in one of his last letters reminds his young protégé “keep ablaze the gift of God,” as the HCSB translates it. The NKJV translates it this way, “I remind you to stir up the gift of God.”
Either translation reminds us that in life, sometimes in the midst of difficulties and sometimes in the midst of triumphs, we can allow the fervor of our Christian to walk to grow cold. Sometimes we are even tempted to turn back to old ways and relinquish the gains we have made, or even to quit. But, there really is “no quitting in Christianity.”
We are called to finish our race, not just begin one. We are called to be faithful to the end, not just at the beginning. We are called to endure during tribulations and challenges so that we might gain character and produce a proven hope.
Truly, “There is no quitting in Christianity.” No matter what the day brings, we remain ablaze for God!
