“But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’<\/em>” (Luke 9:62).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Whatever the project, the finish is better than the beginning. Outcomes matter most in life, not just intentions or struggles. To the churches in Asia, Christ pronounced a blessing on “him who overcomes<\/em>” (Revelation 2:7, etc.). In Christ – always by the ability that He supplies – it is the overcoming of difficulties, and not just facing them, that counts in the long run.<\/p>\n
Now, it is certainly true that getting started is sometimes the hardest part. Once we’ve mustered the will to begin, momentum kicks in and carries us forward, making the work much easier. Still, the temptation to quit is always present. Having made a beginning and gotten some of the work done, we often get tired and give up.<\/p>\n
Regarding our discipleship, Jesus said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God<\/em>.” Those are strong words. Yet rather than being intimidated by them, we ought to be energized. Edward R. Murrow, the World War II broadcaster and news correspondent, famously said, “Difficulty is the excuse that history never accepts.” If that is true in physical warfare, it is even more true spiritually. God always promises to help those who will commit to His work, but He expects us to keep going and finish what we started. Heaven is for the one who “overcomes.”<\/p>\n
Many of you knew Gerry Sandusky and enjoyed his colorful sayings. He was known far and wide for saying we need to “hang in there like a hair in a biscuit.” Gerry was the only guy who could get away with saying something like that in the pulpit, but it makes the point, doesn’t it? We’re not going to make it if we don’t persevere.<\/strong><\/p>\n
If there’s something God wants me to do, I’m going to work on it till the job gets done. If He calls me home before the task is completed, that’s okay. I’ll take that as an indication that the finishing of the work was not His plan. But as long as I’m still living and He’s still providing the sustenance, I plan to keep getting up every morning and hammering away. If it’s hard, so what? Difficulty is no excuse.<\/p>\n
We got dirt to break, we got a note to pay.
\nI’m gonna plow to the end of the row,
\nI’m gonna wake up in the morning,
\nAnd plow to the end of the row.
\n(Adrienne Young & Will Kimbrough)<\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Gary Henry via WordPoints “But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:62). Whatever the project, the finish is better than the beginning. Outcomes matter most in life, not just intentions or struggles. To the churches in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1161,917],"class_list":["post-93083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-endurance","tag-persistence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":57591,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-study-my-bible-like-i-plow-my-field\/","url_meta":{"origin":93083,"position":0},"title":"I Study My Bible Like I Plow My Field","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Author Unknown A farmer explained: \"I study my Bible like I plow my field. Oftentimes when I'm plowing or breaking new ground, my plow will get hung under a root, and if I'm going at a pretty good clip it will really jar me. But I don't get mad and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/farmerPlowing-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":47131,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-impact-of-our-choices\/","url_meta":{"origin":93083,"position":1},"title":"The Impact of Our Choices","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dennis Stackhouse Just prior to his physical death, Joshua tried to encourage the people of Israel with these familiar words: \"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28446,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/five-imperatives-in-evangelism\/","url_meta":{"origin":93083,"position":2},"title":"Five Imperatives in Evangelism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Royce Bell Trust God's Power Ever remember: For all we do, at whatever cost and in whatever numbers, the positive results of any effort are attributable to God and Him, Alone. 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