I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8
If you see our eldest son, Casper, be sure and share this bulletin article with him. Any time he asks how long it will take until we finish a certain task or process, I tell him, “All we lack’s finishing.” I have done so for years, and it has always driven him bonkers. Even when he was just four or five years old, he knew all we lacked was finishing from the moment we began the process, so my answer was of no use in satisfying his desire to know how long we would still be working on the task at hand.
Though it may seem as though I am just giving my young son a hard time, I have a purpose in responding this way. I want him to learn not to spend his energy worrying over how long it will take him to complete a task, so that he can spend it on performing the task to the best of his ability. I have wasted a lot of time in my life watching the clock rather than making the most of the moments I have been given. I get that sometimes we must be mindful of the time as we have schedules to honor, etc. However, when it is unnecessary to watch the clock, it detracts from our efforts to do so. The reality in those moments is that I would prefer to be doing something else.
This mindset is valuable in our spiritual lives as well. Each day is an opportunity to serve the Lord faithfully, but it often involves doing things we are not particularly excited to do. If we approach such tasks with an eye towards other things we would prefer to do, we will not give our all in completing the task at hand. It seems this is what happened to Demas in 2 Timothy 4:10 after Paul spoke of finishing his course. Demas loved the present world and abandoned Paul along with the work of the Lord. He had better things to do and quit before the job was finished. How many have grown weary while doing good because they became impatient while awaiting the time to reap what they had sown (Gal. 6:9)? It is a delicate balance of not looking to just get past this or that specific act of service while simultaneously keeping an eye on the grand finale to find the stamina to finish.
None of us knows how long any given situation will last, so we must embrace Paul’s mindset and be content in whatever situation we currently find ourselves knowing that Christ will give us the strength to navigate the circumstances directly in front of us en route to our destination (Philippians 4:11-13; Matthew 6:34). This He does if we will simply seek the kingdom and righteousness first (Matthew 6:33). So, as we labor and toil day by day, let’s remember, no matter how long any given situation, and our entire lives for that matter, may last, all we lack’s finishing, and finish we must (Matthew 10:22; 24:12-13; 1 Corinthians 15:58; Hebrews 3:6, 14; Revelation 2:10).