For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. II Timothy 4:6-8 [KJV]
As Paul states at the end of the letter, he ran his life's race to the very end. He stayed strong in the faith. His reward in heaven was a crown of righteousness. For his reward on earth, he was able to see the progress of his ministry. He did not get to see the completion, but knew that he did not have to watch the ministry grow to completion. His job was to start the plant off with water and seed planting.
How about us? Are we going to the finish, or are we standing around watching the seeds we planted, waiting for them to sprout and grow? That part is not our job. Our job is to plant or water or both and move on. We have to continue the race. We cannot get stuck watching and waiting for some ministry we started to get to full maturity. We can trust as Paul did, that if we give our all and do our best, God will handle the rest.
Be Encouraged and remember that "today is the first day of the rest of your life", a quote that my wife likes to remind me of often.
Martin
No comments:
Post a Comment