Have you thought about what people will say about you after you are gone? Have you gone through the exercise of writing your own obituary? Do you wonder if people will think you were a faithful person? Are you doing what is required for that to happen? Do you wonder what God will say?
We often hear people say they want God to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” when he greets them as they leave this life. That is certainly a wonderful goal. But I wonder how many of us are living in a way that shows we are pursuing it? We all should be.
The Apostle Paul in his second writing to Timothy states he knows his time has come to an end. Paul states with confidence that he has fought the good fight. He had poured himself into the work God had set before him. He could say with utmost confidence that he had given it his all. He had faced lashings, beatings, rejections, being shipwrecked, ridiculed, stoned, and chased out of town. All as a result of his preaching the gospel.
Paul’s race is finished, and he had kept his faith in Jesus. He is looking forward to his reward, a crown of righteousness. He reminds us that all of us who long for Jesus’s return will receive a crown of righteousness. It is not that we live perfect lives but that we continually look forward to Jesus returning to consummate the final form of His kingdom—a new heaven and new earth and new Jerusalem. It is by keeping our focus on Jesus that we can endure the hardships of this life.
I pray we all fight the good fight during this life. I pray we pour ourselves into the work God has laid before us. I pray each one of us keep our focus on Jesus and live confidently knowing He will return. Fight the good fight. Pour yourself into God’s work. Focus on Jesus. Live confidently.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Marty Pressey 