Take a Risk!

The Home Stretch

by Rev. Dale M. Glading, President

Whether it’s the standard 1.25 mile/10 fur- longs at the Kentucky Derby or the 1.5 mile/12 furlongs at the Belmont Stakes, horse races are generally divided into four parts. So, too, are our lives here on Planet Earth.

On our birth date, we storm out of the starting gates and try to get our legs under us as we begin testing the track. Many horse races - and the fate and des tiny of many lives - are determined during this critical first stage.

Studies show that roughly 90% of people
who trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior do so before the age of 18. Likewise, prisons and crack houses alike are filled with people who were not properly nurtured during their child- hood and adolescence.

Coming around the far turn, we enter the back stretch of our lives around age 20. We have graduated from high school and possibly college and are ready to enter the “real world.” A career is launched, a family is formed, and a house is purchased. Roots are put down deep - hopefully, in the good, rich soil provided by our parents - and proper pac- ing is required. After all, our race is less than half over at this point.

Next comes the clubhouse turn. For many people, this is the most productive time of their lives, between the ages of 40 and 60. Income (and waistlines) increase, and our lives take on new meaning as we prepare our children for adulthood and independence. Our careers and our spiritual service should both be in full bloom.

Finally, around age 60, we enter the home stretch. If we have broken from the starting gates properly, paced our- selves accordingly in the backstretch, and gathered a full head of steam in the clubhouse turn, we are fully prepared for the demands of the home stretch. Many a horse and many a person has “flamed out” during these closing furlongs. Look no further than the 2nd and 12th chapters of Ecclesiastes to see how King Solomon finished his race.

With my 60th birthday approaching in September, I have been contemplating my own race. My parents provided an excellent starting gate for me and my siblings, offering equal parts love and discipline. Like Moses, much of the back stretch of my life - years spent working at a retirement community, raising a family and launching a ministry - was mere preparation for the next leg. The clubhouse turn saw me ministering in hun- dreds of correctional institutions across the
U.S. and Canada while simultaneouslypreparing our kids for adulthood.

Now, with about three furlongs to go, I desperately want to finish well. To me, that means resisting the urge to pack it in and coast to the finish line. It also means dig- ging deep and finding new spiritual resources to make up for my declining physical ones.

The bottom line is this: when the Lord returns or calls me home, I want to be found with the bit in my mouth and my legs churning as hard as ever, still giving maxi- mum effort. Whether I finish first, fourth or dead last doesn’t matter, because my particular race has already been predetermined by God and won by Christ Himself. The key is that I use these “golden years” to reinforce my beliefs and fully communicate my faith to the next generation, and the one beyond that.

To this end, I have prepared a series of messages to help other believers properly negotiate the “final furlongs” of their lives. Messages such as “Unconditional Surrender,” “Get Out Of The Boat,” “Give Me This Mountain,” and “If I Perish” are perfect reminders for seniors and those approaching middle age about what God expects of them.

If I can be of service to you, your church, or your Christian group by sharing these messages, please let me know. I can be reached at 772.539.1826 or by email at dale@risktakersforchrist.org.

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

by Rev. Dale M. Glading, President

“Almost.” - Tom Watson, American golfing great

According to Neil Oxman, who has caddied for Watson since 2003, Tom uttered this word absent-mindedly while they were at a tournament in Crater Lake, OR in 2009.
To what was Watson referring?

The week before, Tom had been poised to win his sixth Open Championship at the ripe old age of 59. It would have been his 9th major win and his first in 26 years. Golf commentator and two-time U.S. Open Champion Curtis Strange, who was covering the tournament, said that a win by Watson would have been “the greatest sporting victory of all-time.”

I remember watching the Open live that year, rooting as hard as I could for Watson to pull off this remarkable achievement. As he stepped onto the 18th hole in the final round with his recently replaced left hip, all Tom needed was a par to be declared the “Champion Golfer of the Year.”

Watson striped his drive down the middle and stood just 189 yards from the hole. Torn between an 8-iron and a 9, Tom chose the longer club and hit it flush. Too flush, as it turned out. His ball landed on the front of the green, ran past the hole, and off the back. Needing to get up and down in two to win outright, Watson three-putted from just off the green and then lost a three-hole playoff to Stewart Cink.

Devastated, Watson looked Cink in the eyes, thrust out his hand, and offered him warm and heartfelt congratula- tions. And then, instead of retiring to the safety of the clubhouse to lick his wounds, Tom stood throughout the awards ceremony, his head held high with a sad but broad smile on his face. What a class act!

It is said that Watson learned this type of grace from Jack Nicklaus, who won a record 18 majors, but also finished runner-up 19 times. In fact, Tom had twice bested Jack in head-to-head competition at the Open Championship at Turnberry in 1977 and at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 1982. At Turnberry, Nicklaus said to Watson, “I gave you my best shot, but it wasn’t good enough” as the two men walked off the final green arm-in-arm. Similar words were exchanged at Pebble Beach five years later. True sportsmanship at its best!

My friend, how do you handle life’s disappointments? Do you whine and complain? Do you bitterly blame fate, someone else, or perhaps God Himself?

Why not follow the examples set by Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus? Instead of making excuses, they simply accepted the good with the bad…and tried even harder the next time. “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” Job 2:10 (NKJV)

Here is where I ended this original article, which served as one of our Dare 2B Daring devotional messages last month. However, I wanted to include an addendum to convey a second spiritual truth from Watson’s near-miss at Turnberry.
Remember the tragic story of King Agrippa, who was a guest of Felix, the governor? It is found in Acts 25-26. Having heard Paul’s entire testimony, he remarked off- handedly, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

There’s that word again, “Almost”. Paul asserted that Agrippa believed the prophets (26:27); but he wanted to know if that head knowledge had travelled the all-impor- tant 18 inches to his heart. What Paul was saying is that intellect doesn’t save us; faith does.

My friend, do you know about Jesus or do you know Jesus? The answer to that critical question will determine where you spend eternity.