I have finished the race. (2 Timothy 4:7)
After visiting missionaries on a number of fields a few years ago I came away concerned because far too many of them only had a vague idea about what they were supposed to be doing. They didn't understand how what they were doing fit in with what their team was doing, or with what the church was doing. This was destined to produce frustration and tension between veteran and newer missionaries, and short-circuit the development of church leaders.
The more I considered this problem, both in the light of my own ministry goals and objectives, and in the light of Scripture, the more convinced I was that all of us could learn much from the apostle Paul. At the end of his life he declared, "I have finished the race." In his mind, Paul had done what God called him to do. He shared with humble confidence, "There is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day" (2 Tim. 4:7,8).
I believe all Christians should be able to say at the end of their lives, "I have finished the race God laid out before me" – not just what He wanted me to do in church, but also in the marketplace.
This is not to say Paul didn't struggle with many of the same issues we face today. But he had a clear perception of why God saved him and called him to do what he was doing. Do you? To help you understand better what I'm talking about let me encourage you to read and reflect on Romans 15:14 through chapter 16. In our next visit we'll start a focus and amplify study of this portion.
Are you running the race God had planned for you?
