With the End in Mind

I have fought the good fight.  I have finished the course.  I have kept the faith.  2 Timothy 4:7

Finished – God is not interested in you just crossing the finish line.  Do you know that?  Do you know that getting to heaven is not the goal, that dying “saved” is not what this race is about?  When Paul uses the verb teleo, he says a lot more than simply taking the checkered flag, because teleo is not just finishing.  It is bringing an end to a desired goal with perfection.  It is the natural result of a “good fight,” a contest that emphasizes excellence and beauty.  Is that what you are pursuing?  Are you struggling to finish in such a way that the end glorifies God?  Or are you such trying to cross the line?

When Jesus says that He has finished the course and glorified the Father, he captures the full meaning of teleo.  He shouts from the cross (it is not a whimper), Tetelestai (“It has been accomplished!”)  In beauty, excellence, harmony and virtue, Jesus finishes the course.  That’s the standard.  Is that what you have in mind?

We have a natural tendency to water down the goal.  We would like God to just accept the fact that we’re running.  We want Him to give us the blue ribbon no matter how we end up crossing the finish line.  But God is a trainer and coach who won’t settle for less than His image stamped into our character.  In God’s program, finishing well is the goal, no matter how long it takes to get there.  The race is not to the swift but to the obedient.

I need these words from Paul.  I need to know that there are men and women who have finished well.  In fact, there is a great crowd of witnesses, cheering me on when I feel like giving up because my progress toward beauty and harmony seems so slow.  I remember that the man who said, “I have finished the course,” is the same one who struggled with a thorn, who had a personality conflict with a brother, who cried out that he did what he didn’t want to do.  I need to know all this because, in order to finish well, I need hope that God will stick with my training plan until He accomplishes what He wants, not until I think I’ve had enough.

The Author and Finisher is the One Who pushes me toward the high goal of beautiful perfection.  He is the Author because it is His plan.  He is the Finisher because He led the way – and He lifts, encourages, teaches, trains and manages me as I follow Him.  When the course gets really rough, when I falter and stumble, I know He won’t quit on me.  He has the end in mind.  So must I.