Live Strong...Finish Strong
by Bill Edmonds
August 13, 2018

"I have fought the fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."      
                                                                -The Apostle Paul (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
 
In 1997, a famous professional athlete established a foundation bearing his name for the purpose of assisting the millions of people around the world who have been affected by cancer. The organization's mission has been to provide direct services to anyone affected by cancer, connect people and communities with the services they need, and call for state, national and world leaders to help fight this disease.

They've done a good job at executing on their mission statement, but they now have to do it with a lot less money and less staff. While the foundation has garnered over a half billion dollars in its 21 year history, annual gifts fell from just under $16 million in 2011 to a little under $4 million in 2014. I'm referring to the Lance Armstrong Foundation - the organization that grew their brand with Armstrong's name and the popular yellow arm bracelets reading, "LIVESTRONG".

You would almost have to be living under a rock to not know about Mr. Armstrong's slide from victor to villain. While suspected of doping all the way back to his win of the Tour de France in 1998, the allegations caught up with him 14 years later. In August of 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency concluded that Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career. In October, two months later, he resigned as Chairman of the entity. The next month - November - the organization changed its name from The Lance Armstrong Foundation to The Livestrong Foundation.

Within four months in 2012, Lance Armstrong went from hero to zero. He was stripped of all his wins from 1998 forward, which included seven Tour de France championships, was banned for life from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code, and from any participation in the International Cycling Union. Fourteen years of professional accomplishments at an elite level, now wiped from the history books.

What concerns me most about Mr. Armstrong's story is that I could easily follow the same path. While I don't possess seven Tour de France titles, I have at least five other titles; father, husband, son, friend, leader, and Christ follower. What habits, thoughts, missteps, or inactions might undermine my titles? What roaring lion waits just around the corner to devour me in an attempt to nullify these titles of which I've been entrusted?

LIVESTRONG makes a great bracelet and mantra - finish strong makes an even better one.

In the past couple of years I've seen more politicians, football coaches, and Hollywood elites than I can ever remember, not finish strong. As I write these words a well-known Midwestern mega-church pastor is embroiled in the ecclesiastical equivalent of the Lance Armstrong saga - yet another clerical casualty, a group not immune to the many temptations common to the human race.

Sometimes when we hear about our fallen comrades we like to quote evangelical preacher and martyr from the sixteenth century, John Bradford, who is credited with saying, "There but by the grace of God go I." If I understand God's grace correctly, grace does not keep us from sinning, rather it atones for our sin through the redemptive act of Christ's death on the cross. If we don't finish strong, grace is not negated, in fact that's when grace really shows up. But our effectiveness is. We should say instead, "There but by one selfish, knuckle-headed, irresponsible decision... there but by the lack of accountability... there but by the absence of greed... go I!"

What does a strong finish look like to you? What could keep you from finishing strong? I know what my demons are. They share a common bond with Armstrongs, the Smiths, the Jones', the Williams', the Browns, the Millers, etc. of this world - every living human on planet earth. It's called "self".

Finally, I want to leave you with a word of encouragement. Lest you think I'm bashing Armstrong, the pastor, and the others I referenced, I am not. I have good news for all of us - the race isn't over! You and I and Lance and the pastor may have botched it up to this point, but if we have but a mere vapor of breath left in us, we can finish strong. Because of God's grace and our willingness to repent of our old ways and accept a new way, we can do it. Yes, we can do it by God's grace and His empowerment in us. He has equipped us not only to live strong, but also to finish strong. 

Play to win this week in the game that really counts!
 
Who is Bill Edmonds?

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