You Are Never Out of The Fight

This past Monday was Memorial Day in the United States. It’s the day we set aside as a federal holiday for remembering and honoring the military personnel who perished while serving in the United States Armed Forces since 1868. I trust you took a moment on Monday to move from picnics and cookout to think and be grateful for those who died protecting and providing the freedoms we all cherish.

Of particular note to me this year was remembering the phrase made infamous by US Navy Seal, MARCUS LUTTRELL who reminded everyone that even during the darkest days of battle, even when brothers are fatally falling, that

“I can never forget, that no matter how much it hurts, how dark it gets, or how far you fall. You are never out of the fight.”

As we come to the change another season in our lives, the end of a semester, the end of school, or the beginning of Summer, we must all remember that there is more work that must be done. The beauty of what we all do is that we have learned to be very structured in most things that we do and a part of that structure for those of you in coaching it is the absolute necessity of remembering to call on your past clients.

In the New Testament there is a wonderful narrative that weaves its way through the life of the Apostle Paul and his band of dedicated evangelists – namely Barnabas and Mark. After Paul’s glorious conversion from religion to relationship with Jesus Christ Paul was known for his absolute passion in telling other people about the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.

Admittedly, not everything always was smooth for Paul and his partners. There was even one point in their ministry when the work was going particularly slow and much demonic opposition that young Mark was discouraged at the hardness of the work and decided to return to the comforts of home by abandoning the work all together. He choose to leave the fight.

Sometime later after Paul and Barnabas had returned from their first journey Paul wanted to go and check on the brothers in the cities where they had previously visited and see how everyone was doing – this was his ministry to his past clients – and Barnabas wanted to take along Mark with them but Paul said he didn’t need a quitter with him. There arose a sharp disagreement between the two that they each went their own ways.

Barnabas, the “son of encouragement” wanted to forgive Mark and give him another chance and continued to call on him and bring him back into the work of the ministry. The end result in this was that there were two groups serving as missionaries in the spreading of the Gospel.

But this is not the end of the story, years later it was Paul himself who said that Mark was a “fellow worker” and sends a request saying, “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.” He never gave up on his past clients.

Too often you and I miss the opportunities in front of us because we think the battle is over. Those guys are gone forever and they can never be helped again, but we are wrong. Every person in our lives have value and we have to remember that no challenge to reach them is too hard because everything in life worth doing is worth overdoing.

CALL THEM, WRITE THEM, VIDEO THEM.

Remember, you are never out of the fight. Keep fighting to the end.