One More Round
As I was spending some time reflecting this morning, I came across a poem I read years ago. It resonated with me in a different way. On September 7, 1892, James J. Corbett won the first heavyweight championship prize-fight in which the contestants used boxing gloves. Corbett won the match against John L. Sullivan with a knockout in the twenty-first round. That’s right the 21st round! James J. Corbett also had a way with words. Knowing his background, we can appreciate them even better when he said:
“Fight one- more- round. When your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring, fight one- more- round. When your arms as so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one- more- round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one- more- round—remembering that the one who always fights one- more- round is never whipped.”
This is solid advice not only for the boxing arena, but for our lives in general. Unfortunately, there are times when life hurls some difficult blows. The saying, “And the hits just keep on coming” is whispered under our tired, worn-out body. Mental and physical exhaustion hits us with a one-two punch, and down we go. Yet, there in our corner a voice from the Lord says, “You can go on. I’m here.” Then we hear a bell of reprieve, we get up, and then we know we can go one-more-round.
One-more-round! I thought about that verse in 1 Corinthians 9:26 “…I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.” Boxers in the first century used ox-hide gloves. They would have strips of metal and glass tied around like bandages. Every blow a boxer made had an impact. They made their blows count. The Apostle Paul did not live his life like a religious shadow-boxer. He did not beat the air, empty and unchanged. He wanted to make every punch count through everything he did. Throughout his faith journey, he continued to go one-more-round.
To the tired single mother and father, hear the bell, get up, and go one- more- round. To the widow and widower, to the one struggling to make ends meet, to the teacher, the doctor, the nurse, the pastor, hear the bell, get up, and go one- more- round. There are days I feel as though I’m in round forty-two. However, with the Lord here with me in my corner, I know that I can go one-more-round.
Something to Think About,
Pastor Mel
