For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:6,7
Let’s pretend for a moment that you have been arrested and placed in prison. You have been told that a decree will come at any time for you to be led out to the place of execution, where your life will be taken for the ‘crime’ of being a Christian. What thoughts go through your mind as you sit on the side of your little cot? Are your reflections on the life that has led you to this point ones of regret or of satisfaction? That is exactly the situation that is facing the apostle Paul as he pens our text today. Nero’s guards are at the ready, to take him out to the chopping block when the expected order comes. Paul speaks with confidence that he is ready for that order, and is fully accepting that his life on earth has drawn to its conclusion. He is satisfied with that. Would you or I be? Would we be able to say like Paul that we have fought a good fight, we have finished our course, and kept the faith?
The record of Paul’s life leaves us no other conclusion than that he fought a good fight. He had thrown himself unreservedly into his commitment to serve his Lord, and had valiantly encountered many adversaries along the way. He endured much suffering along the way because of his unwavering commitment to the fight. He serves as an excellent example to us. Certainly we will never have to go through the same experiences that Paul did. But in our little circle of activity, have we been as committed to the effort? Do we throw ourselves wholeheartedly into service to the Lord’s people? Do we exert every effort toward the furtherance of the Gospel? We are in a fight, so we must be fighting.
As Paul reflected in his prison cell, he had come to the conclusion that he had completed everything that God expected him to do. In fact, penning this last of his letters was perhaps his final duty as the great apostle to the Gentiles. It was with a deep sense of satisfaction that Paul could declare that he had successfully finished the job. Many faithful older Christians can tell you that they experience that same deep sense of satisfaction, as they consider their lives.With no regrets for the hardships endured, they appreciate all that God has allowed them to accomplish for Him. What about us, what do you and I have left on the table that the Lord wants us to clean up before our little journey ends?
It is a simple statement that Paul makes about keeping the faith. But it is a huge one. Think about all the martyrs who went to their deaths with a hymn on their lips as they kept the faith in the face of the king of terrors. Think about all of the older saints we know whose love for their Lord has grown the stronger and sweeter the nearer they come to their final breath. And then, think about ourselves as we consider the days that lie ahead. How likely are we to be led aside in the coming months and years from that which we hold so dearly today? Or will we remain committed to God and His Word, and to His work, and to His Assembly until our days are done?
Paul’s declaration is one of a triumphant life at its close. There is no reason why we cannot also live a triumphant life. – Jim MacIntosh