The DVR, the Bucs, and the comfort of knowing the end

On Sunday I "missed" the Bucs incredible comeback: their biggest in history. Well I say "missed" because I didn't watch it live. For 7 dollars a month, the DVR feature has become an NFL lovin' Pastor's dream come true (you know with Sunday being a work day and all).

But even with the game being recorded, I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch it. I really didn't. If they lose, I sometimes watch the games REALLY fast (skipping plays). Yet if I know they are going to win, I savor them a bit more and simply skip the huddles.

On Sunday they were playing as poorly as was humanly possible, so I didn't have great expectations. I couldn't watch this game-when I got home from youth group-without knowing the end first. So I timidly checked ESPN.Com and found out they won in Over Time. It was the same case with the movie The Sixth Sense; I had to know the ending was "good" before I would suffer through the scary parts (except this time I didn't need to keep the lights on).

When I got home I simply savored the game, despite the fact they continued to turn the ball over 2 more times in the red zone. I wasn't worried when they made stupid penalties. I wasn't worried when there was 25 seconds left and they were 25 yards away. Even though they rarely ever come back, I wasn't scared. I knew the ending. I knew they would eventually score a touchdown and get the 2 point conversion.

That's not to say I wasn't excited. That was probably one of the more exciting games I've seen. But because I knew the final score, I had nothing to worry about. Life definitely isn't like the DVR; and we should be glad-if you've seen the movie Click, you know what I mean.

But there is some parallel. It's important to know the end of the story. God doesn't give us all of the details (supposedly the devil is into those). Even how the end comes about is a little fuzzy. However He does give us enough that we don't need to await further revelation. And here's the end. We will one day get a new world, and Satan will be crushed under our feet (Romans 16:20). And in that new world, we will be without sin (Rev 21). And He promises to get us from here to there (II Tim 4:18), even when we, like the Buc's, just about "fumble" away the game. So because we have the end in mind, we can struggle, fight, and still enjoy this life he's given us. We know we will literally come out on top (Romans 16:20).