Faithful To The Finish

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. – 2 Timothy 4:7

As we wrap up our conversation on leaving a godly legacy, I want to give you one more step you can take if you want to leave a legacy that honors the Lord and points other people back to Him. (I would also encourage you that if you’ve missed the last two days’ devotions, go back and read them so you can learn all three steps.)

The final step to leaving a godly legacy is to be faithful to the finish. God has given each one of us our own race. I’m not running your race and you are not running my race, but we are each running our own race. We aren’t running against each other; we are just running against ourselves. Notice that in today’s key verse, Paul didn’t say “I have won the race.” He just said, “I have finished the race.” In this race, every finisher is a winner.

God is not concerned with how fast you run, but how far you run. It is not how you start the race; it is how you finish the race that counts. Did you ever run track in high school or see someone run track? If you did, here is my question, “Did you ever hear of anybody winning the 95-yard dash?” No, and you never will. You may run the fastest 99 yards, but if you don’t finish that last yard, you lose.

I have pastored a lot of 95-yard Christians. I call them “used to” Christians. They used to be committed to the church. They used to serve in the church and give to the church, read their Bible, and share their faith. They used to be involved, but eventually, they quit running.

You know life is not a sprint; it is a marathon. Have you ever noticed something about people who have run marathons? I am going to admit I don’t t know of any physical feat that impresses me more than those people who have run marathons. When someone tells me they have run a marathon I have never asked them, “What was your time?” or “How fast did you run it?” I don’t even ask, “Did you win it?” Do you know what impresses me? The fact that they finished it. 

That should be our mindset when it comes to running the race God has given each of us – to finish the race and be faithful to the finish.

Dear Lord, I want to be faithful to the finish. I don’t want to be a 95-yard Christian. I want to pursue you and serve you all the way to the end. Give me the perseverance, the strength, and the determination I need to be faithful to the finish. In Jesus’ name, amen.