Fighting.....and Eternity

2 Timothy 4:7-8 NIV:
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.

If there's been any doubt as to the nature of the call we have received as Christians, today's passage simply dispels it. We come to Christ, like was emphasized in our last post, thinking that his presence will dispel all inconveniences and pain. When reality bites, we get confused, trying to balance the realities of God's Word with the physical evidence of the things that surround us. We almost begin to think that God may have been unfair to us if things had to be this bad for his children.
But interestingly, there's no where in his Word that God promised a stressless and problem-free life. What you find in the Bible in various ages and seasons, is the grace of God being revealed in bitter and difficult experiences encountered by his children. Things get difficult but the grace of God becomes more real. That is what God promises.
Today's passage is like a summary of all that we should expect as we live as God's true children. Life is a race, a battle, a fight. It is not a walk in the park, or just a dance. We were not called out to blend in and be ordinary. God did not invest so much in us so we could sit down and be comfortable, passing throughife without so much of an impact. Our lives are meant for so much more than that.
Paul could say, without any fear of contradiction, that he had done hs best. On the evidence of his life,I think there was no doubt about that. Beaten several times, shipwrecked also, betrayed by friends, imprisoned severally, praying for relief but God only promising his ever-sufficient grace. I look at myself honestly and I ask if I really can stay focused like Paul through these experiences. It takes a man who's completely sold out to God to stay focused on the grand prize at the end of the journey.
And this is the clincher: nothing you face on earth is permanent; everything you will experience has a time-frame for manifestation and an expiry date. Everything will cease one day and only those who, like Paul, have learnt to live on the grace of God, will earn the rewards for faithfulness. Can I say like Paul, that I'm fighting the good fight of faith presently? Can I honestly say that I'm running the race before me faithfully? Can I really look forward to a reward if I keep living my life the way I'm presently living it?
I alone have the honest answers to these questions. There's no place for ego or self-deceit, just a honest assesment if my life with the help of the only One who can truly reveal the real me to me.
Work, walk, run and fight like one who knows there's an end in view and a reward to be earned. His time of favour is here