THE VERY FIRST time we went bowling, the first ball we rolled was a strike! Much to the amazement of those with us, the second ball was also a strike. At this point we had as high a score as any professional bowler. Of course our game deteriorated rapidly from there, and we ended up with a low score.

Anyone can bowl a strike sometimes. The difference between the amateur and the professional is consistency. This is also true in almost all other sports. On a given hole many duffers can beat Arnold Palmer but not in 18 or 36 holes. Sometimes the landlubber accidentally lands the biggest fish of all, but he can't keep up with the experienced fisherman day after day.

Our profession is following Christ. Anyone can do a good deed once in awhile. Even hardened criminals do kind things sometimes. The difference between us, Christ's brethren, and the rest is consistency. Let us not point to the exception and make out that it is the rule. The fact that we did this or that last year means nothing now. Tomorrow is a brand new day to serve the Lord. What we did today will not fill tomorrow's need. How many times have we observed the scores of a double header in baseball where in the first game one team won by a lopsided score of something like twelve to nothing only to lose the next one by a score of three to two. All those excess runs in the first game could not be used again.

Our life is like this. We cannot rest on our laurels and think that yesterday's good deeds are sufficient to carry us through today. We have a brand new day before us, brand new God-given strength, and brand new opportunities to serve the Lord. The thing that should cause us to stand out from the rest, like a champion over an amateur, is the fact we consistently read our Bibles, we pray continually, we always attend every meeting and class, and we can always be counted on to help the weak and visit the sick. Everyone does some of these things sometimes. On a sinking ship, many people are praying, but when had they previously sought God this way?

Jesus tells us that only a few will be saved. The difference between those few and the rest will be the fact that the few served God every single day. They always tried to do what was right. They did not run in spurts like the hare but patiently continued in well doing, and at last when Christ returns he will give them the crown of life that fadeth not away.

It is difficult to be consistent. In sports it separates the champions from the crowd. In the Truth it separates the sheep from the goats. We need to decide upon the goal we want to reach. No champion ever got there by accident. It requires hours and hours of practice day after day to reach the top. Fritz Kreisler once said that if he missed practicing his violin one day, he knew it; if he missed two days, his friends knew it; and if he missed three days, the whole world knew it.

God knows if we miss just one day. Our godly life of reading, praying, and serving must be a daily life. Let us then "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."