Commentary: Enduring to the End – by Don Kirkland

As the apostle Paul sent out his letters to far-flung communities of faith who were discovering that following Jesus was not the easiest path they had ever tried to follow, he drew from the athletic world for his most memorable metaphor for life: It’s a race to the finish.

Kirkland

In a letter to the church at Corinth, Paul noted that in a race, everybody runs, but only one gets the prize. “You know that, don’t you?”

“So,” he said, “run in a way that will get you the prize. All who take part in the games train hard. They do it to get a crown that will not last. But we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

For that reason, Paul declared, “I do not run like somebody who doesn’t run toward the finish line. No, I train my body and bring it under control. Then after I have preached to others, I myself will not break the rules and fail to win the prize.”

As the time for his death drew near, as he languished in a Roman prison awaiting execution, Paul wrote to his son in the ministry, Timothy, telling him in words that have resonated through the centuries as the triumphant benediction for a life poured out as an offering to God: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Paul went on to say that he and all who are “right with God” would receive the prize, their reward given by the Lord himself.

The great apostle’s cry of victory will resound at the annual meeting of the South Carolina Baptist Pastors Conference to meet Nov. 12 at Brushy Creek Baptist Church in Taylors with its focus on “Enduring to the End.”

The conference emphasis was decided upon to challenge and encourage ministers and others to stay the course, to hold out, to last, to withstand the pain and fatigue, to stand, to bear – to finish well.

Writing on the subject of “Finishing Well” some years ago, Steven Cole presented a picture of Paul in his prison cell shouting out words of encouragement to the “runners” in the Christian life: “Don’t quit. Keep going. You can finish well.”

Cole could imagine Paul – who never was at a loss for words – continuing to cheer on the weary saints: “Keep in focus my view of the present. You can reproduce yourself in others to carry the torch after you. View your life as a sacrifice to God. Your death will be a departure to be with Christ.

“Keep in focus my view of the past, so that one day it will be your past. You will be able to look back and say that you engaged in the struggle for the cause of Christ. You didn’t drop out of the race. You guarded the truth of the gospel.

“Keep in focus my view of the future. Soon you will stand before the Lord, the righteous judge, vindicated by his grace. Live in view of THAT day.”

The Scriptures give ample examples of people who may have started well, but they didn’t finish well. Howard Henricks of Dallas Theological Seminary discovered after an exhaustive study of the men and women of the Bible that there are approximately 100 detailed biographies recorded in Scripture, and for about two-thirds of them, their lives ended poorly. According to Henricks, either they turned to lives of immorality, drifted away from the faith, or they ended their lives in what is referred to as a “backslidden” condition.

Paul was not in that number, and neither should we be at life’s end. Certainly Paul’s words taken from his letter to Timothy can speak to you and me today – to all who are finding the going tough as they are coming down the stretch toward the finish line, as well as those for whom a finish line is too distant to see.

Not many days ago, a friend reached his finish line in life sooner than any of us who loved him would have wanted. Charlie Templeton taught English at Eastside High School in Greenville. His wife Betty and my wife Linda, both English teachers, are colleagues at Riverside High School in Greer.

For years the Templetons and the Kirklands have shared the same neighborhood, an endearing friendship and a common faith. Charlie had retired from Eastside’s faculty not long before his death, and he had told Betty, “I beat Don to retirement.” As we stood at his bedside in the final moments of his life, I said to him, “Charlie, you did beat me to retirement. And now, you’re going to beat me home.”

Only our Lord knows fully the impact this gifted educator and Christian servant made on the many lives he touched, taught, encouraged and inspired through the years. “The students you have influenced are your legacy,” I said to him, adding, “And what a rich legacy it is.”

Our friend and brother in Christ has received the prize that all of us who are still in the race long for as we run, walk – and, if necessary, crawl – toward our own finish lines. Charlie finished the race, and he finished well. My prayer is that you and I will, too.