I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7
In this verse to Timothy, Paul succinctly summarizes the most important parts of his own life as:
- He’s fought on the side of good.
- He’s completed his race, and
- He hasn’t lost his faith.
Notice, however, that he doesn’t say he’s won the race. He says he’s finished the race.
There’s a major difference between those two outcomes. The race of life is the toughest challenge there is, and only one man has ever won it. Only Jesus lived a sinless life. Only Jesus won the race. All we can hope to do is finish.
But, to finish we have to try to win, otherwise, we’re not even competing. If we don’t try, we’ve simply dropped out. We have to try to live a life without sin, and when we fail we must repent and try again. We must continue to try our entire lives, even though we know we will ultimately lose the race. Or will we?
Because here’s the thing, through Jesus, we can win. He shares his victory with us. He’s already won the race. All we have to do is finish.
Today I will try again.
[Please share a comment! Ed.]
I love this! I will keep trying…every day.
Excellent
Lovely thought, Meredith, It is the most important race of all we enter, and there is no prize like the one we are promised in this race!
Excellent thoughts, Meredith! And in this race, the more we help others, the more we help ourselves!