I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:14 (NLT)
In our previous post, “Start Well,” we emphasized the importance of starting well in our faith to construct a life that will withstand the storms and earthquakes that everyone faces. To build securely, we must dig down deep (Luke 6:47-48) to lay the foundation of our life on the Solid Rock.
It may require multiple attempts and failures before we realize the necessity of clearing away all the rubble, so in the words of the old song “Nothing between My Soul and My Savior,” is it true of us? It would be nice to think that everyone who starts well finishes strong, but that is not usually the case.
Research on leaders from biblical and church history consistently reveals that it is only a minority that finishes well and leaves a positive legacy. Dr. Robert Chilton concluded that only about one in three leaders finish well.[1]
I have reached the point where the thought of finishing well has come to the forefront. It will not happen by chance, but rather, in the words of Paul, “pressing on to reach the end of the race.” There is no stage of life where we can afford to become complacent, thinking we can coast to the finish line. What can we learn from others, both positively and negatively, to enable us to finish strong?
Avoid Complacency
Running the race is the theme that occurs many times in Scripture. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Hebrews 12:1-2). Repeatedly, the emphasis is on winning, keeping our eye on the prize. Paul sounded a note of dismay when writing to the Christians at Galatia: You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? Galatians 5:7 (MSG).
To win, we must keep moving until we reach the finish line. I have seen football players begin to celebrate too early before scoring a touchdown, only to be caught before reaching the goal line. They became complacent, and it cost them (and others). A. W. Tozer was critical of those who were too easily satisfied by the progress of their faith:
One of the great foes of the Christian is religious complacency. The man who believes he has arrived will not go any further; from his standpoint it would be foolish to do so … The present neat habit of quoting a text to prove we have arrived may be a dangerous one if in truth we have no actual inward experience of the text. Truth that is not experienced is no better than error, and may be fully as dangerous. [2]
The greatest weariness will occur near the end of the race. Or we may think that we have already done enough to win, but we must never give up until we reach the finish line.
Deal with the Distractions
You have cleared the rubble and begun building your life on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, and you are cruising along, believing that life is good. But something comes along and shakes you up. It could be a deep wound, real or perceived, and things do not make as much sense as they once did. It could be a death, a change in a relationship, something that causes you to fear, or 100 other things to distract you.
To paraphrase Paul from Galatians 5:7: “You were building a good life on the solid foundation. Why are you now distracted?” Just because you cleared the rubble once does not mean it is gone forever. Or perhaps it is something you have never seen before.
The world, Satan, and even our own carnal desires must be dealt with consistently, and constantly. We are not to be of this world, but that does not mean that all these forces are not attempting to squeeze us or conform us to be like the world. It is dangerous to reformulate doctrine or practice from a place of hurt or confusion.
We have seen pastors and other Christian leaders claim to have a new interpretation of Scripture when a son or a daughter announces that they are in a relationship forbidden by God. A life that was working in alignment with God’s Word now questions the very foundation of their faith.
Men and women facing these faith challenges begin dismantling sound doctrine’s pillars. They question the authority of Scripture and the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ as the only way to the Father. They even have a name for what they do: “deconstructing their faith.” In earlier times, it was called backsliding.
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
Hebrews 11 is sometimes called the faith chapter. It recounts those who stood firm in their faith, even in the face of significant opposition. Moses chose to endure ill-treatment with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a moment. Toward the end of the chapter, we read about those unnamed men and women who sacrificed everything for the cause of Christ.
The next chapter transitions to the lives we are living by declaring that a great cloud of witnesses surrounds us. This verse indicates that the saints of God are viewing and cheering us on in our pursuit of God. Because of these witnesses, it instructs us to strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Hebrews 12:1–2 (NLT)
Four things stand out in this passage. First, we get rid of everything that weighs us down. It is not necessarily sin, but it counts as rubble and distractions. Second, we cannot allow sin to remain because it will trip us up. Third, to finish well, we need endurance. We are not running a sprint or building our lives for the short term. We are racing and building for eternity.
Finally, we do all this by keeping our eyes on Jesus. He is the beginning and foundation of our faith and the goal for which we are striving. To finish well, we must keep our eye on the prize.
Steve Ekeroth
[1] J. Robert Clinton. Leadership Perspectives. Altadena, Calif.: Barnabas Publishers, 1993.
[2] A.W. Tozer. The Root of the Righteous. Harrisburg, Pa.: Christian Publications, 1955.