This post was written upon reflection of the ESPYs and clips of Jimmy Valvano and Stuart Scott prepare us for the award show tonight.
I first heard Jim Valvano’s words back in 1993: “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” (If you haven’t watched this…please do.)
I was just a 15-year-old kid who loved UNC basketball, yet here was our rival’s coach drawing every human emotion out of me and I could not understand why. Twenty-two years later, I can now resonate with the need for Jimmy V’s challenge… and how so many of life’s challenges invite us to choose a path of fight or flight. Stand or surrender. Being a person of faith in Christ usually means we do a bit of both. Sometimes, we pick battles that stand for something—a moral code, justice, defending the little guy or a decision to believe something our culture does not. Sometimes, we have to look a little more like our rabbi Jesus who taught us to love our enemies and pray, “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done” and in doing so, we deny our agenda and yield to Another’s.
So how do we choose? When do we stand or fall?
Twenty-one years after Jimmy V’s challenge, another fighter stepped into the spotlight. In 2014, Stuart Scott (UNC alum and ESPN icon) gave this clarification:
“When you die, that does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live. So, live. Live. Fight like hell. And when you get too tired to fight then lay down and rest and let somebody else fight for you. That’s also very, very important. I can’t do this “don’t give up” thing all by myself.”
Scott’s inspirational words remind us that our humanity shows us what we are capable of and also how needy we are. Our strength and weaknesses are both part of the story God is writing for us.
I was recently speaking with a mother of a young adult who was raised in our church, but chose a lifestyle of rebellion and pleasure. Recently, this young man attended church and has asked his parents for some biblical wisdom and affirmation. “We’ve been through this,” she said. “We can’t afford to go down this road again and get our hopes up, only to have our hearts broken again.”
How do you convince a parent to keep fighting for her beloved son? I could only offer her a reminder that this boy too was baptized and loved. Parents and the church made a commitment to never give up. We made promises. And we keep them. We continue to fight for him and so many others on our trembling knees before God. After all, it is His will we are seeking, so we should be approaching Him, pleading with Him, thanking Him through each challenge that throws us into uncertainty.
I am reminded of Paul’s words to a young discouraged man leading his church in Ephesus,
3-4 Timothy, you are constantly in my prayers. Day and night I remember you before God and give thanks to Him whom I serve with a clean conscience, as did my ancestors. I really want to see you, especially when I remember how you cried the last time we were together. Yes, I know it would make me joyful to see you again. 5 What strikes me most is how natural and sincere your faith is. I am convinced that the same faith that dwelt in your grandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice, abides in you as well. 6 This is why I write to remind you to stir up the gift of God that was conveyed to you when I laid my hands upon you. 7 You see, God did not give us a cowardly spirit but a powerful, loving, and disciplined spirit. (The Voice translation)
Paul tells this young pastor that while things are difficult now, he is being prayed for and loved on. The problem might linger, but his heart will be strengthened through days of earnest faith. Paul reiterates that the faith of others (his mother and grandmother) has been instrumental in his past and current situation. In short, the tapestry of prayers weaved by the saints bring Timothy present encouragement.
So for now, we wait. With faith that wavers, ebbs and flows. Yet we are also strengthened by moments on our knees or tweet-prayers shot to the heavens while we’re stuck in traffic. Our God — and “the cloud of witnesses” from our spiritual family – allow us to never give up.
We will never run out of fights. Some of them will take us to our final breaths. But we should never believe the lie that we can be defeated. For only one, allowed Himself to be defeated by the weight of sin. Yet even then, our glorious King Jesus rose again to defeat death and show us that HOPE will always remain.
So fight. Fight like hell. And if things don’t go your way, let the grief of loss take you into the arms of a resurrected reminder of everlasting victory. Don’t let fear keep you from praying for those you love. Don’t let pain keep you from climbing that last hill. Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.
Not Just a Corner 