Dr. Fred Eichelman: It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over

Dr. Fred Eichelman December 8, 2019

340 3 minutes read

Who can forget that classic statement by the great wordsmith Yogi Berra and it is a philosophy that has been around for centuries. “It ain’t over til it’s over” may not always be spoken in words, however it is there.

Years ago an actress friend was going through a disastrous divorce and when I asked her how it was going she replied, “It ain’t over til it’s over.” And she was correct. The couple reconciled.

This is something that appears to exist in politics and has for years. Abraham Lincoln lost his bid for the U. S. Senate despite gaining fame for his debate skills. Political pundits of the day assumed his career as a politician was over. Abe went on to win two elections as president.

In 1920 Franklin D. Roosevelt was on the national Democrat ticket as Vice President with James Cox running for President. They were soundly defeated and it was assumed that despite his name, unlike Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin would not be heard of again. Of course we know how differently that turned out. FDR would later win the presidency four times.

Within this writer’s lifetime one that stands out in this regard was Richard M. Nixon. After Nixon lost against John F. Kennedy in 1960 he ran for governor in California two years later and was defeated. A whipping child of the press Richard Nixon announced in a press conference, “You won’ t have Nixon to kick around again.” Of course Nixon went on to win presidential elections in 1968 and 1972. Despite the disgrace of Watergate that forced Nixon to resign from office he went on to write well-received books on foreign policy. Ironically at Nixon’s funeral President and opposite party member Bill Clinton praised Richard Nixon as an outstanding statesman who accomplished a great deal in that field.

We must pause here to note that the idea of “It ain’t over until it’s over” can backfire. It must be something that Hillary Clinton believes as she has never accepted her defeat to Donald Trump in 2016 for the Presidency of the United States. To date Hillary has listed over three dozen reasons why she lost the election, none of which were her fault. Hillary has even suggested she might run again. She has made the statement that there are people urging her to run though likely it is husband Bill and daughter Chelsea. This writer believes that while it is over for her, maybe she should run just to prove the American people do not want her.

Now politics aside there is a more classic case about not making judgements that something is over when it isn’t. After the Diaspora by the Roman Empire in 70 AD it was assumed that Israel was no more. The Jews were disenfranchised forever. That was proven wrong in 1948.

More significant for Christians is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Jewish people of his day had expected a Messiah. Someone to come to take the throne of David and run the Romans out. To establish a new kingdom that would last forever. What was over looked in scriptures was that the Messiah to come would be humble, would represent God’s love to triumph over Satan and Sin through Crucifixion and resurrection. Even though Jesus advised his disciples about this triumph they did not fully believe. At his death there was great despair among his followers. Authorities of the day believed it was over that that no more would be heard of Jesus Christ. Satan had won. Then his resurrection brought new life and salvation for us all.

Though Yogi Berra’s exact words are not in the Bible likely Paul said similar things in his letters. In other words it ain’t over. The day is coming when we will have the return of Jesus Christ and it will be like no return ever witnessed by man.

As we go into the Christmas season this needs to be given more thought than ever before. There is more division in the world than we have ever witnessed in our life times and that is even more true in our nation. The birth of Jesus Christ gave the world real hope for the first time. Not just then, but especially today. We may be faced with a lot of things in life, but one thing for sure is that the signs are present. Our Lord and Savior will be returning in full glory and we should be prepared.

This should give us pause to truly wish a Merry Christmas.