Leave everything on the field

Last night was the Super Bowl.  About 95 million households were tuned in to watch an enormously dramatic game.  Fans of both teams were treated to alternating emotions of despair and delight as the outcome of the game swung from one team to the other, before the Steelers fittingly topped off the game with an amazing pass completion with less than a minute to play.  I thought about those intense emotions that we, as fans, experience (even though we are far from the playing field and vicariously participate in the game as we view it through an electronic screen).  Why is it that victory is a "peak" experience and defeat is a "valley" experience.  I suppose the answer lies in the nature of competition where the outcome determines a winner and a loser.  It seems that winning makes you feel like you are the best and losing makes you feel like just the opposite.  Clearly the big game also brings out the ultimate from the athletes.  They know that to win a Super Bowl they must bring their best game, from start to finish.  When you give your all and win, the feeling of victory matches that high level of effort.  But when you give your all and lose it's hard to reconcile that defeat with the ultimate effort you just left on the field.  I think we are called to give our all in the daily game of life.  Just like the Super Bowl, our game has a finite time on the playing field of earth.  The stakes are high and include reflecting our Lord, reaching others for eternity, and walking in close relationship with the living God.  I am encouraged that if we give our all in this game we can all be winners!   2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.   Today I felt a freedom to get back in the game and hope to resume daily devotional thoughts.  Please feel free to let me know if you'd rather not receive them.  Blessings to you all.   Rob Smith http://2daysthought.blogspot.com/