for the 950th time

I came across an odd article the other day. A 68-year old woman from South Korea took her driver's license written exam for the 950th time. Now I feel for this woman because I also failed a road test a few months ago. But taking the test 950 times seems outrageously ridiculous. Failing one time is bad enough. And when you've failed for the 100th time, you might want to re-think why you're doing this. But after 949 failed attempts (unbelievably crazy!), she finally passed by reaching the minimum score of 60 out of 100. The woman had been taking the test since April 2005.

Despite the ridiculousness of the situation, you have to admire the woman's perseverance, determination, and flat-out refusal to give up. She's obviously a very stubborn woman. And her stubbornness finally paid off in the end.

I believe that Christians, in some ways, must also learn to be stubborn. It just seems so much easier to pack up your bags and give up on Christianity than to persevere through it. It's easier to give up pursuing a life that is holy and pleasing to the Lord. It's easier to give up getting back on your feet when you've sinned for the nth time. It's easier to give up on God when you feel like God has given up on you. It just seems so much easier to give up.

But just like this woman in the article, we must refuse to hang up the towel and quit. We must learn to be stubborn. Stubborn enough to keep on fighting for what is holy. Stubborn enough to get up every time we fall. Stubborn enough to keep the faith in spite of what may come. James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (NIV, emphasis mine).

James clearly says that perseverance will ultimately benefit believers. If you're able to hang on long enough, perseverance will eventually lead to maturity and completeness. And so as believers, we must refuse to give up when things don't go our way--even if it takes 950 attempts. And in the end, I believe that it will all pay off.