At the end of his life, the Apostle Paul wrote in his last letter:
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 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 Timothy 4:6-8).
Paul almost certainly knew when he wrote this that he would soon be executed. His writing to Timothy was motivated, in part, by his awareness that he would no longer be able to continue the work of advancing God’s kingdom.
Paul had seen the Holy Spirit do remarkable things during his life. Still, compared with the population of the whole empire, the total number of believers at this time had to have been very small. But his focus at this moment was not on the results his ministry had produced, but rather on the knowledge that he had carried out the mission he’d been given. He kept his eye on Christ, not on the world. Not even on what he could see God doing in the world.
Just before the passage I quoted, Paul had written to Timothy:
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction… But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry (2 Timothy 4:1-2, 5).
Paul’s charge to Timothy was simple; do the work you’ve been given to do, in season and out of season. Carry out your duties, no matter what. And he himself had set the example.
It had to have been tough for Timothy to read this letter from a man he knew and loved. But at the same time, it must have been incredibly encouraging. When someone tells me to follow the example of Christ – well, that’s what I want to do. But Christ is God and I am not. No matter how much like him I may get, there’s always much more, and as long as I’m in the world there always will be. In this life, that goal is unobtainable, and I know it.
But an example set by a brother or sister is different. That’s someone like me; fallen but redeemed. Whatever godliness and faithfulness I see in their life I can reasonably hope to see in mine as well, if I am willing, and if I keep going.
That’s why this passage is so powerful. Paul, even at this moment, was still nothing more than a former violent enemy of God, transformed by God’s grace. And yet, he could say at the end of his life that he had been faithful. That he had completed the work God gave him to do.
And there are others, a vast multitude (Hebrews 12:1). Even as I write this I’m remembering, from just last year, Corey Comperatore. A follower of Christ, he did not know when he brought his family to a presidential campaign event that God only had one more task for him to complete.
However my earthly life ends, whether in bed, or meeting Christ in the air when he returns, or stopping a bullet aimed at someone else, may this be my testimony; that I finished the work God gave me to do.