Persevering To The End

Persevering to the End

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8

How often have you seen a team jump out to a big lead and then change what they were doing? The game isn’t over, and suddenly they move to a different offense or defense, thinking that the game is already won.

Here’s the classic, which I have personally never understood or used, but for years team after team would do it. A football team would be well ahead—three to four touchdowns—and their defense was shutting the other team down. But for some reason they would go into a “prevent defense,” with defensive backs playing deeper than usual to prevent the big play. Before you knew it, the team who was behind had scored two or three touchdowns against this defense, and all of a sudden, they have made what seemed like a lopsided loss into a competitive game. You’d think they would continue to play the same tough defense that had been successful—persevering until the game was won. But they don’t. And they lose. There’s always something left to be done, right until the very end.

Today’s verses from the apostle Paul to Timothy—and now to us—encourage us to stay strong until the end of the fight. The fight isn’t over yet, but what a day it will be when we stand face-to-face with God and say that we persevered to the end! And then we’ll hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Note, too, that the prize isn’t for accomplishments; it’s for “remaining faithful.” We can’t earn it or achieve it, no matter how many wins we have or all the earthly rewards that come with them. The prize is the crown of righteousness that He will give us when He returns for finishing the race and remaining faithful to the end.

Are you someone who is “eagerly look[ing] forward to his appearing”?

Uncommon Key > The race of faithfulness is different for each person. Your job is to run it until the end, keeping the prize in your sights.