It's Not Just Cricket (Moshiach)

Question:
The one Jewish ideal, that I can't get understand, is Moshiach - the belief in the coming of a Messianic era.

What good is achieved, by awaiting some future time, when there will be peace on earth?

Shouldn't we focus on the present, rather than dreaming about the future? Why is the belief in the coming of the Moshiach, so central to Judaism?
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Answer:
Some of the deepest truths, I have learnt from my cricket coach. He was a sharp guy, with a keen eye for detail. He would observe my batting style, and point out what I needed to work on.

But I gained more than just cricket advice: one consistent flaw in my batting, was my follow through.

The coach noticed, that as soon as my bat hits the ball, my arms lock, and the bat stops. No good, he said. "You need a full follow through. After hitting the ball, you must keep swinging, making a complete semi-circle in the air."
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This made no sense to me.

What difference does it make, what I do with the bat, after I have hit the ball? Contact already has been made, between bat and ball; and whatever power I have put into the shot, is there already. Will the ball travel further, if I follow through?

I can understand, why back swing is important - the more I pull the bat back, the more momentum the swing has. But once the ball is hit, who cares what I do with the bat? Whether I keep swinging or stop, or throw the bat away, should make no difference to the ball, that has already been hit. Why follow through?
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My coach gave me the answer. The end, affects the beginning. The follow-through doesn't begin after you hit the ball; it begins as soon as you, lift the bat.

A swing that will end in a full follow-through, is a different swing entirely. The affect of what will be later, is affected by what I do now. The beginning destination or goal, will influence the whole journey.
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This principle - that the end point shapes the whole - is true in cricket, baseball, tennis and golf. And it's true in life, too. What you believe about tomorrow, shapes how you view today.

Where your life is headed in the future, will determine how your life is lived now. If the world is randomly hurtling through space, bound to eventually collide with an asteroid and return to vapor, then human history is a directionless romp through time; we are going nowhere, and my life certainly has no significance.

Why work, why build, why love, if it all ends in nothingness?
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But if the world is heading toward a purpose, for which it was created. Since human history is a long journey, with a clear and wonderful destination; then what I do today is very important.

My efforts today, can bring the world a little closer to its purpose.

My lifetime builds, on the lifetimes that came before me, and gives a better world to those who will come after me. Bringing us ever closer, to Moshiach.
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We are not just propelled by our past; we are beckoned by our future. Believing in a Messianic future: a world of peace and divine closeness: inspires me today, to take a step further, in that goal and journey.

The Moshiach ideal, makes the world better now. It may even improve, my batting average.