Finishing Wellናሙና

  The Call to Finish Well

There is a woman in my neighborhood I want you to meet. The exchange would be awkward, as I’ve never met her myself, but the one thing that draws me to her is her fight to finish well. At least from a physical standpoint, she’s no slouching couch potato. Over twenty years my senior, she is more consistent riding her bike, adorned in protective gear and gadgets, than I am with my running, and she outlasts my runs. She’s not joy-riding. I’m not sure what the goal is, whether she’s training for a race, trying to reduce her time, or beat sundown, but her energy, concentration, and speed indicate there is one. Day in and day out, approximately the same time, on the same route, my mystery woman is there, defying the norms for her demographic, and making the most of this season of life in the best health possible.

My neighbor serves as a reminder that while most of us have spent the last season willing the calendar forward, a different path might be beneficial for our present and in the days to come.

Rather than hiding under the covers until the ball drops in Times Square, the Christian life is one of action. It mostly calls believers to endurance building, discipline-invoking, character-enhancing, thrill-inducing endeavors until our dying breath. Don’t get me wrong. Some days are about riding down the same street, on the same route, over and over again. Such activity results in transforming our very natures. From this perspective, the end of the thing is better than its beginning.

A commonality we might notice in Scripture from those who finished well is their level of participation. For instance, Hebrews does not herald the faithfulness of couch potatoes, pew-sitters, or worship-exchanging ball-game goers. Whether they saw the victory in this life or were sawn in two for what they believed, the aim was the same: Regardless of the cost, finish well.   

Paul sums up his zeal to do precisely that.

But, I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,

You, too, are called and equipped for passionate pursuit. Come out of the covers. Get off the couch. How might God be directing you to press on toward finishing well, today?