2 Timothy 4:7-8
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. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will give it to me on that day, and not only to me but also to everyone who loved his appearing.
Applying God’s Word for today: When our race is finished!
Managing your way through the Holiday Season, with all its chaos and commitments, can feel like running sprint after sprint just to get through it. Often, the season’s purpose is lost in the rat race. Then we get into the new year, and everything will be different, but nothing changes. Moreover, as we round the track toward what has often been called the “golden years,” we find they may not be all that golden, as we continue to focus on what “must be accomplished” with much less energy to get it done.
When our lives come to a close, what will you look back on from all the holiday seasons you tirelessly trudged through? For what purpose? What was the meaning of it all? Yet our Lord, who willingly came to earth to be part of this rat race of life, lived a life of perfect love for all of us who fail to love God above all else and others as ourselves. He went to the cross, bearing the punishment for all our sins of unthoughtfulness and selfishness. He suffered death in our place. Why? So that by faith in Him, this life matters, so that at its end, when we take our last breath and cross that finish line, we are given a crown of righteousness. This life is only a very short period, and when it comes to its close, you either believe in Jesus and God’s love or don’t. For the unbeliever, it is eternal condemnation, but for the believer, faith delivers eternal life and salvation.
Dear Lord Jesus, never let us finish this race of life without confidence in you and in the love you have for us all. You achieved our salvation through your perfect life, your innocent death on the cross, and your resurrection. May we always hold on to you, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
The fight is usually internal; your sinful nature does not want you to submit to the love of God. Yet know that despite how you might feel, God still loves you and wants you to finish your life’s race, trusting in Him, so that you will have salvation and eternal life.