Post # 19 -- Finishing Well

 

No, I have not yet reached the finish line!  But one of my ultimate life-goals is that when I get there I will “finish well” to the glory of God. The older I get, the more relevant this goal seems to be.

And with this life-goal staring me in the face, I find myself thinking about it during more than a few fleeting moments. 

But first, let me define what I’m talking about.  In reality, this is not all that complicated.  It’s simply about ending life in a way that truly brings glory to God.  

The purpose of this post is to process what “finishing well” means to me and to identify what it might take to make this a reality in my life.

Unfortunately not all leaders finish well.  It is sobering to reflect on studies that have shown that approximately one out of three leaders down through the years, including biblical leaders, fail to finish well!  (To read the details, google Dr J. Robert Clinton, Finishing Well, Six Characteristics).  This is serious business!

My primary model is my dad.  Dad was an ordinary person — a retired-farmer-turned Assisted Living Home Administrator who focused on loving and providing for my mother and us five kids.  He never preached a spell-binding sermon or wrote a best seller, yet he lived a vibrant sermon every day up to the point of his transition into new life.  Dad had his imperfections, just like the rest of us.  But he finished well — and left a legacy that I continue to enjoy to this day.

The apostle Paul certainly had the same goal to finish well as he writes to Timothy near the end of his life —

“I have fought the good fight,  I have have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store  for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me at that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”           (2 Timothy 4:7)  

I pray that each of us one day will be able to say the same words!

Each year I find encouragement and a challenge from spending time at my dad’s gravesite thinking, reflecting, and praying.  For example, here’s a peak at a journal entry from last year’s visit to his gravesite. 

Tuesday, June 7. 2021.  Today is my day for a monthly “Day Alone with God” and I’m spending part of it at Dad’s grave (Mom’s too).  Today marks 25 years since Dad joined Jesus in heaven.  That’s two years longer than it took me to grow up and get married!  So hard to believe!  One of my highest aspirations in life is to finish well as he did.  My prayer is that my finishing well will some day also impact the rest of our family — just as Dad’s legacy impacts me.  I  truly doubt I’d be all that I am today had Dad failed to finish well.  I want my family to enjoy that same legacy!

I just reread I Thessalonians 4:13-18.

“For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” (1 Thess 4:14)  Mom and Dad’s spirits are in heaven now with the Lord!  They will return when Jesus returns to gather all Believers unto Himself who are alive at that point. 

“For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  (I Thess 4:16)  As I sit here, I visualize what would happen if Christ were to return this very moment.  Mom and Dad would rise up out of this grave and ascend up into the sky.  That is mind boggling!

“After that we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (I Thess 4:17).  A moment later, I will join them in the sky — where I’ll also join Marilyn and (prayerfully) the rest of our family.

“Therefore encourage one another with these words.”  (I Thess 4:18)  We are told to encourage one another with this hope.

If this were to happen right now, would I see Mom and Dad come up out of these graves in front of me?  Would they greet me in passing? How long would it be until I meet up with them and the Lord in the air?  Obviously I don’t want to miss this.  And when I meet them and the Lord in the air, I want to be able to do so with my head held high — because, like Dad, I finished well!

The psalmist prays, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  (Psalm 92:12)  I believe the psalmist was also anticipating finishing well and was seeking the wisdom essential to making that happen.

As I ponder all this, an obvious question emerges, which I admit I ask myself with some apprehension:  What would “finishing well” look like for me?  

Here’s what God is helping me come up with so far: 

1. That I have finished life with a cheerful, upbeat and encouraging spirit.  I do not want to die a grumpy old man!
2. That I have been been faithful emotionally, physically and spiritually to God and my wife.
3. That I have finished life praising God while recognizing that though I might be wasting away outwardly, yet inwardly I’ve been renewed day-by-day, keeping my eyes fixed on the unseen.  (2 Cor 4:16-18)
4. That I have been the person God wanted me to be and have completed what he gave me to do.

I am trusting God to make this happen in my life.  

I’m also aware, though, that I have a part to play.  Accordingly, here are five “enhancements” that I am trusting will help me finish well.

1. Spiritual Disciplines.  I never want to lose the discipline of spending regular with God and His Word, including extended periods of silence and solitude.
2. Perspective.  I endeavor to retain a healthy eternal perspective, keeping my eyes on the end goal.
3. Learning posture.  I never want to plateau spiritually.  I want to keep growing.  I’m always impressed by 2 Peter 1:8.  After listing eight important character qualities, he says — “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”   It’s not only in having the character qualities, it’s in the process of growing in them that God is honored!
4. Mentoring.  I deeply value the privilege of being mentored.  Two of my mentors have gone on to glory.  Two remain and I praise God for them!
5. Accountability.  It is possible that not every one needs accountability to help them make changes in their lives, but I know I do.  This personal, practical accountability is critical for me to keep me focused on completing my part in finishing well.

I’m encouraged and challenged every time I read this poem by Robertson McQuilkin who stepped down as President of Columbia Bible College (now Columbia Bible Seminary) to care for his wife, Muriel, who had Alzheimer’s disease.

Let Me Get Home Before Dark

It’s sundown, Lord.

The shadows of my life stretch back
into the dimness of the years long spent.
I fear not death, for that grim foe betrays himself at last,
thrusting me forever into life:

Life with You, unsoiled and free.
But I do fear.
I fear the Dark Spectre may come too soon
- or do I mean, too late?
That I should end before I finish or
finish, but not well.
That I should stain Your honor, shame Your name,
grieve Your loving heart.

Few, they tell me, finish well . . .
Lord, let me get home before dark.

The darkness of a spirit
grown mean and small,
fruit shriveled on the vine,
bitter to the taste of my companions,
burden to be borne by those brave few
who love me still.

No, Lord. Let the fruit grow lush and sweet,
A joy to all who taste;
Spirit-sign of God at work,
stronger, fuller, brighter at the end.
Lord, let me get home before dark.

The darkness of tattered gifts,
rust-locked, half-spent or ill-spent,
A life that once was used of God
now set aside.

Grief for glories gone or
Fretting for a task God never gave.
Mourning in the hollow chambers of memory,
Gazing on the faded banners of victories long gone.
Cannot I run well unto the end?
Lord, let me get home before dark.

The outer me decays -
I do not fret or ask reprieve.
The ebbing strength but weans me from mother earth
and grows me up for heaven.
I do not cling to shadows cast by immortality.
I do not patch the scaffold lent to build the real, eternal me.
I do not clutch about me my cocoon,
vainly struggling to hold hostage
a free spirit pressing to be born.

But will I reach the gate
in lingering pain, body distorted, grotesque?
Or will it be a mind
wandering untethered among light phantasies or grim terrors?

Of Your grace, Father, I humbly ask. . .
Let me get home before dark.

Dear Reader, I don’t know what this poem does to you.  But personally I am having difficulty seeing these words as I write due to the tears welling up in my eyes as I again read this poem.

God, I also humbly ask: let me get home before dark and finish well