“As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me – the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8 NLT)
There’s a scene in the movie “Chariots of Fire,” where Eric Liddell is deliberately tripped and knocked down early in a race. A lesser man wouldn’t have gotten up, but with leg bleeding, ignoring the pain, he not only finished the race, he won it! He then collapsed, gasping for air. He had nothing left. That’s what I want to be like when my life ends – poured out for God, having given all to His honor and fame.
That’s the way Paul felt as he faced the end of his life. The word “poured” used in the verse above has reference to “a drink offering, a libation made to God.” It’s also used figuratively in reference to a martyr’s death, “poured out” to God’s honor, which, of course, Paul’s life was. But what about me? What about you? Are our lives being poured out as an offering to the Lord, to ourselves, or to something else?
The picture Paul paints is of a person on their death bed – spent, no energy, gasping for breath, not able to speak, just waiting for the last bit of air to pass from their lungs and their heart to stop. What do you envision people will say when that day comes for you?
“They were a great person, they squeezed out every ounce of life – on the golf course! At their job! On their spouse/family! For the church! Through the local shelter! ___________. Or a thousand other things, but if our/their motive isn’t to honor Jesus and increase His fame, for all intent and purpose, we’ve wasted our lives. Remember, it’s not what you do that builds favor with God, it’s why you do it. So, if what you’re doing is for your glory, honor and praise, you might as well stay on the golf course or at work, it’s doing you no eternal good.
Jesus gave EVERYTHING for us, how can we give Him less? And yes, of course, we honor Him by doing a great job at our work, loving our families well, serving the church and other organizations, spending enjoyable time doing things with our friends, but if Jesus isn’t the motivation and explanation for our love for those things, we’ve missed it.
Paul said: “I have remained faithful.” The word he used here means “to attend to carefully, take care of.” It’s like if a family member or friend entrusts me with their mint 1969 Ford Mustang Mach I. And I say, “Sure, no problem.” Then I drive it carelessly, park it places it gets scratched and bumped, never wash or clean it, and leave the gas tank on empty. Then when they return and ask the reason I didn’t care for their car as I said I would: “Oh, I just thought you meant treat it like I treat my own old car.” I’ve lied!
That’s what we do to God when we make promises we never intend to keep. We promise to guard our purity, love, and serve Him faithfully, but we’re so busy caring for our own concerns we seldom give His concerns a thought. Then when we die or He returns and we give an account of our lives, we discover we’ve lied and it’s too late to do anything about it.
TODAY is the day to be faithful and to keep our promises, not only to God, but our spouse, our kids, the church and everyone else to whom we’ve made promises. We need to daily be pouring our lives out to the Lord’s honor, and make no mistake, how we treat and serve others is, or should be, as unto the Lord.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 