There are two scripture texts that we often hear at funerals – especially for those who have lived a good long life.
His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
Matthew 25:21
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7
They are absolutely appropriate in that setting and can certainly give those grieving these losses a sense of peace, knowing their loved one lived out those words.
While the context of those scriptures, particularly the 2 Timothy text, looks back on a life already lived, I think it’s possible to glean some wisdom for our daily Christian walk.
Recently, I’ve been contemplating these texts outside of that familiar context. I believe there is much for us to learn, regardless of where we are in our life or on our Christian journey.
At the risk of stating the obvious, yes, we know that not everyone lives a long, full life well into their 90s. We’ve likely all experienced losses or witnessed deaths that seemed very much “before their time.”
So, living life with the viewpoint that we are never promised tomorrow is a wise and appropriate way to look at the road ahead of us.
But even that isn’t the thought I want to share with you today.
What God has laid on my heart is that we shouldn’t only look at how our life was lived in the rear-view mirror, after it’s almost over. We should live daily with the question,
“Would God say to me today, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’?”
That notion has been convicting to me as of late. Do I live daily for Christ? Would I make different decisions, not because this might be my last day, but because every day that I’m not actively living for Christ is a day wasted for God’s Kingdom?
To be clear, this isn’t about checking off the box each day marked, “Lived for Christ.” It’s about developing a heart that seeks God’s will and asks for his guidance as a natural part of our daily lives.
Is that the desire that rises to the forefront of my conscious thought every day? Or is my mind preoccupied with unfounded (and sometimes founded) worries? Does the busyness of life or the minutiae of daily living crowd out anything spiritual?
I’m not naive enough to believe any of us can do this perfectly. Despite the saving grace of Jesus, we still inhabit these sinful bodies and struggle against a lot of “me” priorities.
But what if we ended each day asking ourselves these questions?
“Would God tell me, ‘Well done’ today?”
“Did I finish today’s race well?”
If you’re consistently answering those questions with a “no,” it doesn’t mean God will give up on you, or that you should give up on yourself. Remember that God loves us completely and unconditionally, regardless of how well we met those expectations.
Can we still look to the next day expectantly? Or will we allow a day or two or 30 to derail us and cause us to give up?
You know who wants you to give up? Satan, of course. He wants to destroy any effort that might strengthen our witness to the world around us.
I don’t ever want Satan to win! Sure, he taints my witness, too, but he does not get the last word. “Greater is He that is in you (and me), than he that is in the world!” 1 John 4:4
Finishing a race, regardless of how long it is, requires persistence, perseverance, determination, and an acknowledgement that God wants to equip us with all that and more for the journey.
Friends, stay connected to the Savior daily through those two very basic Christian tenets:
- Prayer
- Time in God’s Word
They aren’t new. You’ve heard them a zillion times most likely. They stick around because they are still the way to walk more and more consistently with Jesus.
My prayer for all of us is that, someday at our funeral, these words of affirmation can be said about us. But even more so, I pray you can end more and more days with those same words.
And let us not grow weary of doing good,
for in due season we will reap,
if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9
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