Those who enjoy sprinting know how crucial a good start is for an athlete in a 100-meter race; a poor start can seriously compromise their chances of achieving a good time. Even in our daily lives, we generally pay close attention to our first experiences in different fields, aware that they can have a lasting impact on our future. However, in practice, things don't always go as we would have hoped.
Observation
How many women there are who, in their youth, hoped to remain virgins until marriage, but who ultimately succumbed to the charm of a skilled seducer. Now, having had children out of wedlock, they consider themselves not qualified and unable to speak calmly and authoritatively to their daughters about this treasure to be preserved. They now fear that their offspring will no longer heed their advice, because they themselves would no longer be role models.
How many men and women, having entered into marriage with high hopes, have been so disappointed that they no longer consider marriage a genuine potential source of happiness. They now perceive it as a constraint to which they are obliged to submit: to provide their offspring with a relatively stable environment for their development, to obey the "standards" of society, while consoling themselves in the occasional indulging of their desires.
What can be said of those people who, abused from their very first relationships of engagement, friendship, business, and even supposed fraternal communion, have been betrayed to the point of now doubting the good morality of any One whatsoever?
While we often bear some responsibility for a “poor start” in life, sometimes we are completely blameless: not all of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouths, not all of us benefited from parental support from birth, or even throughout our childhood, not all of us enjoyed a certain intellectual comfort that allowed us to achieve good results in school, not all of us were born in perfect health, or did not retain all of our physical or intellectual abilities during our youth. However, we are not responsible for it.
However, whether or not we bear responsibility for what is commonly referred to as our "poor start" in some aspect of our lives, only one question remains: are we therefore condemned to remain in despair regarding that aspect? Is it possible that, mid-course, we might experience a complete paradigm shift?
Genesis of a champion's rise
Whether or not we bear responsibility for what is commonly referred to as our "poor start" in some aspect of our lives, only one question remains: are we therefore condemned to remain in despair regarding that aspect? Is it possible that, mid-race, we might experience a complete paradigm shift?
Before addressing the issue of a potential paradigm shift head-on, let us share an anecdote: A newly crowned MMA boxing champion, Francis NGANNOU, when asked why world champions in certain types of sports were often people who had a difficult childhood, coming from poor families, replied that this was perhaps due to the fact that the path to get there (that is, becoming a champion) was so difficult tthat one really must have no other choice but to persevere to the end.
In other words, he indicated that the path to success was so difficult that only those with no other alternatives could persevere to the end. These were people who, in most cases, came from impoverished families.
What must be understood from these explanations is that someone who boxes for pleasure because they have another source of income will not do so with the same determination, enthusiasm, or zeal as someone who knows that boxing is the only way to earn a living and escape poverty. Indeed, the latter will not be deterred by the first obstacle or frustration, but will do everything possible to muster the courage and work hard enough to achieve their ultimate goal; and if, from that point on, they possess the seeds of a champion, the necessary potential, then under these conditions, they can blossom.
God's sovereign choice
Indeed, as we indicated in an article entitled "The 4 Motivations," there are four main elements that God highlights to lead us to do good works: love or passion, calling, reward, and constraint. Sometimes, however, God chooses to place us in a position where constraint becomes our primary motivation. And if you ask yourself, "Why me?", well, as you well know, the main answer is God's sovereignty.
Generally, God always equips us before sending us on a mission. So, if it's you that God chose to send to Earth after those two young people had their fun while the girl was fertile, if it is you whom God sent into the womb of that woman who was outright raped, if it is you whom God caused to be born into that home with a drunken father… then it may be because you were the one equipped to victoriously face the situation. You have an exceptional calling, but to fulfill it, you absolutely must rise again.
New start
For those who might feel, or even acknowledge, their responsibility for their "poor start" the Bible is full of countless examples of people who had miserable beginnings in their lives, but rather prodigious endings; we will limit ourselves to some of the most emblematic cases from the New Testament:
- Saul, who later became the apostle Paul, had a terrible start in his relationship with Christ, for he persecuted the Church, even participating in the stoning of the deacon Stephen because he guarded the garments of those who threw the stones (Acts 7:55-60, 22:20). Despite this dramatic beginning, he was reconciled to Christ and became a major instrument of God in the writing of the New Testament epistles.
- Zacchaeus, in his dealings with his fellow men, had a bad start. He was a swindler, but once Christ entered his house… or rather his heart, he was totally transformed and reconciled with them by returning fourfold all that he had withheld from them by abuse (Luke 19:8).
- And what about Mary Magdalene, the notorious prostitute? She was certainly known for her abject life; it's an understatement to say she got off to a "poor start" in her adult life; it was truly lamentable. But the love of Christ was available to her as well. She had the privilege of anointing and perfuming Christ's body before his death (Mark 14:8), she had the privilege of being the first to see him at his resurrection (John 20:11-18), she had the privilege of being among those through whom God provided for the Lord's needs, for they supported him with their resources (Luke 8:2-3). How many women would not rejoice to have such a life… at least, in its second half.
In reality, we all long for our "poor starts" (a race that gets off to a bad start, but is still valid and therefore must continue) to be considered "false starts" (a start marred by irregularity and that must be restarted). Yes, we all yearn for a "restart". And this desire within us finds its essence in the thought that God has placed in our minds; for yes, God's solution is that we be born again (John 3:3).
To be born again is to invite Christ into our lives; not so that he may restore our lost dreams, but so that he may restore His own purposes, not marked by selfishness, vanity, and pride, but rather full of love, compassion, and wisdom. Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ wants to give us back our zest for life; but above all, He wants to give it back its meaning.
The primary meaning, the main purpose of our lives, is to be reconciled to God the Almighty Father, the One who gave us the breath of life with a very specific purpose. It is to Him that Christ came to reconcile us; not simply with our fleeting earthly sojourn in mind, but rather, with our eternity. Yes, only Christ allows us to be saved from eternal hell and to spend our eternity instead in paradise.
God, like his Christ, is fully aware of our earthly and human needs, but better than we are, he will provide for them in due time. Therefore, let us beseech the Almighty Father God, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to forgive us all our sins, from the most heinous to the most subtle; to breathe into us the new breath of his Holy Spirit. Let us pray tirelessly, repeatedly, until in our hearts we have the assurance that our prayers have been answered.
Amen!
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