“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” ~ Philippians 1:21
On August 26, 2017, boxer and champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. won his 50th fight and remained undefeated making him one of the greatest prize fighters of all time. He defeated a young man named Conor McGregor who ventured from his realm of mixed martial arts to boxing just so he could have a once in a lifetime opportunity to potentially dethrone Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Like many, I thought he should not have even gotten in the ring with Mayweather. He wasn’t a seasoned boxer. He had learned boxing; however, he was not of the championship caliber of most fighters who were probably worthier of getting their shot to fight Mayweather. He wasn’t polished. He lacked the speed of a fighter that would have contended against Mayweather. He really wasn’t a boxer and this was proven when Floyd TKO’ed McGregor in the 10th round of the fight.
So now, the fight is over. McGregor loss; however, he walked away with a paycheck of $100 million. Wait a minute! McGregor loses the fight, gets knocked out, but walks away with $100 million for fighting one of the greatest boxers to ever step in the ring.
Why am I providing this analogy? Sometimes in life you spiritually train, you read your Bible, you exercise your Christian prowess in Sunday School, Bible study, and Sunday service just to discover on Monday you are facing an adversary a few extra wrenches in the game that you did not expect. You are now on the ropes of life and you are attempting to bob & weave, but you are still catching 70% of Satan’s punches.
That unexpected trip to the doctor has now rendered a cancer that you did not know you had. That’s a punch to your ribs. Unemployment snuck up on you when everything seemed to be “peachy” on the job. That was the uppercut that you didn’t expect. A close friend or family member unexpectedly dies and you are crying and weeping trying to understand the “why?” questions you are throwing at God in your corner of the ring, yet you are still in the 8th round of the fight with four more to go. An eviction notice has hit your front door and you are trying to figure out what else could go wrong. That was the left hook that made your jawbone numb. And finally, you come home to find out your spouse is leaving you because they have decided to be unfaithful to you, but temporarily “faithful” with someone else. And with the right cross that jolted your whole being, your entire spirit, and anything that you had left…and “Down Goes Frazier!” You’ve been knocked out and everyone saw you go down. You loss the fight, right?
According to Christ, you have not loss anything! As a matter of fact, you have actually gained! You see, when you are in Christ, you never lose! It doesn’t mean that you won’t suffer. It doesn’t mean that every day it’s going to be coral beaches and blue skies. It does mean that you lasted through the fight and even when it appears that you were defeated, Christ says that since you were in him, you came out on top. Just when they thought you loss, Jesus says that you have gained it all.
Trust this, you are much stronger now for going through your fight than not having fought at all. To have the opportunity to live in Christ is CHRIST because these momentary struggles we go through are nothing to be compared to the glory of God that will be revealed. Just when it looks like I have loss, I have actually gained.
~ Rev. E. Shon Hagwood
