Finishing Well

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As we draw close to the end of 2021, how do you hope you can end the year? We all know that a good start is very important, but to be able to finish well is also not so simple. Some people have a blessed start, but they may not finish in a blessed way. The most classic example in the Bible is king Saul. He was chosen by God to be the first king of Israel. In the beginning, he was very humble and blessed. Sadly, in the end, he drifted from God and lost his initial devotion to God. On the other hand, though his successor king David was also imperfect, at least he knew how to come before God to repent after he sinned. For king David, he had a blessed beginning and he also finished well.

I believe we all desire to finish well, not just at the end of 2021, but also at the end of our lives, we hope to be able to profess like Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Ti 4:7-8)

Now the world may have its own definition of “finishing well”, but to the children of God, that will mean to follow Christ steadfastly and faithfully all the way to the end of our lives. Then eventually when we meet the Lord, we can hear Him tell us, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” However, there are many factors that hinder us from finishing well. Within us, our sinful nature and flesh keep urging us to gratify our desires, instead of submitting to God. And our enemy the devil also keeps deceiving us, tempting us to give up on following God. There are also other environmental factors, such as the busyness of life, the influence of worldly culture, distracting and urgent matters to attend to, all of which make it difficult for us to remain devoted to God to the very end. So how can we finish well? Let us consider a few things:

1. It is possible for us to finish well only by the grace of God.

Those who truly understand the gospel will know that everything comes from God’s grace. Even apostle Paul said, “by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Co 15:10). If we can start to receive grace, it is because God’s grace first came upon us. If we are able to follow God consistently and finish well, it will also be due to God’s grace. Now, when some people hear such message about standing firm to the end and finishing well, they will feel stressed, because they know very well how weak they are, so they are not confident of being faithful to the end. However, we thank God that His grace will faithfully help us to follow Him to the end. For “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Php 1:6).

2. To finish well, we must be Christ-centred.

Because Christ is “the pioneer and perfecter of (our) faith” (Heb 12:2). Moreover, when we put our attention on Christ, delight in Him and be satisfied in Him, we will then surprisingly not love sin so much. Sometimes, we find it very hard to resist sin because it is very difficult to give up something we love (such as sin). However, if we grow in our love and relationship with Christ, that love for God will gradually take away our love for sin. Therefore, we must know how much Christ loves us and keep confirming that. Furthermore, we also need to set aside dedicated time each day to get close to God through His Word and prayers, so that our relationship with Him can grow sweeter. As we focus on loving Christ, our urge to sin will reduce, and we can then continue to walk in the blessed and godly path.

3. Recognize our life purpose clearly.

As Christians, we know that the life purpose that God has given us is to “glorify God, edify people and build God’s Kingdom”. And when a person is clear on his purpose, he can then be very focused. Just as Paul said, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Php 3:13-14). In (1 Co 2:2), he also said, “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

We can see that Paul was a very focused person. He only had “one thing” in his mind, which was the goal God had set for him. He also did not wish to know other things except for “Christ and Him crucified”. That was how single-minded Paul was. And a very focused person will also surely have self-control and good self-discipline, because to focus on one goal means to break free from other hindrances. Thus, (Heb 12:1) tells us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”. When we can shake off the things that entangle our lives, we can naturally focus better on the mission God has entrusted us and continue to run the blessed race God has marked out for us.

4. If we want to finish well, we must start preparing today.

If a Christian only daydreams about finishing well, yet does not lead a life in line with the gospel today, then he is not being realistic. Thus, a critical factor to finishing well is to start obeying God right now, in our every day, every step and every affair. Our current state will no doubt affect our future. If a person wants to finish well spiritually, then from now onwards, he should be a living sacrifice to God every day. Although I mentioned just now that it is only by God’s grace that we can finish well, Paul said something very important, “his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Co 15:10). Indeed, God gives us grace in order for us to have the power through grace to obey Him. When we “work hard” by God’s grace to obey Him today, we are more likely to find ourselves finishing well in the end.

Dear brothers and sisters, we must remember that finishing well does not mean that we will not fail in the process. But what is important is, even if we sin or become weak in the process, we must humble down to repent again and rely on the Lord again. Then by His gracious forgiveness and empowerment, we can find hope to finish well indeed. May it be our prayer to finish well this year and for the rest of our lives!