by Jacob Ninan
When the apostle Paul realised that the time of his death was approaching, he sent his last letter (2 Timothy) to Timothy whom he had mentored in his Christian life. He said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith" (2Tim.4:7). We can see a sense of satisfaction or fulfilment as Paul looked back over his life towards the end. He was not claiming that he had run the race (or fought the fight) of his life perfectly or without any failures. In fact, one thing he was very conscious of was the fact that he used to be once a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violent aggressor and that it was only the grace of God that had made him what he was now (1Tim.1:12,13). But once he was 'laid hold of' by Christ, he worked harder than all the rest making full use of the grace God had given him (1Cor.15:10).
There are three aspects about the way he ran his grace. He fought the good fight, finished the course and kept the faith. It was like three targets he had in running this race, and he had fulfilled all three. As we look at them, we can examine our lives to see how we have been running our race. We have all come from different starting points, and we go through different circumstances. In that sense, the race that each of us runs is unique and unlike the races others are running. This race is not to see who is coming first. We are not in competition among ourselves. For each of us, the goal is to finish our own individual race.
Fought the good fight
We cannot run this race any way we like, or according to rules we make up. We have to run it according to the rules God has laid out for us (2Tim.2:5). We need to find out His rules from His word, and the clearer we are about those rules, the better we can run the race.One of the most important things is to understand what this race is all about, what we are running towards. Many people are running the 'rat race' trying to get to the top, pushing down people, climbing on top of others, seeking to make a name or lots of money for ourselves, accomplish great things, leave a monument behind in our name, etc. But when we leave this world, we cannot take any of these things with us. Jesus told us not to go after things that 'moth and rust can destroy' (Matt.6:19,20). If we are running the race that God wants us to run, our life will be becoming 'brighter and brighter' with the glory of God (Prov.4:18). That glory of God that can be seen in us is the life of Christ. If we have been neglecting this and running after all the other things like the rest of the people, wouldn't our life be really empty when we stand before God?.
"Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called" (1Tim.6:12). The first thing we see about this fight is that it is about faith. It is sad to see that for some people, faith is just something that they believe in their head. They believe that Jesus died on the cross, rose up on the third day, etc., but their practical life does not show any impact of their faith. What they profess to believe and how they live do not match. What is the use of that kind of faith if it does not make any difference to the way we life? This fight of faith is to fight to live our practical life in accordance with the faith that we profess.
The second part of the above verse tells us that the aim of this race is to 'take hold of the eternal life'. Eternal life is not just about living forever. Even the people who go to hell live forever! God is the only one who is truly eternal, with no beginning or end, and the eternal life which we are aiming for is His life, or His nature. If we assume we have become Christians but we are living just like the other people without bothering about partaking of this life, we are deceiving ourselves. All of us know what we are really living for, whether it is money, fame, pleasure, achievements, etc. If this is the case, and we are not aiming for eternal life, we must realise we are in the wrong race!
When Paul saw this race that God had called him for (Php.3:12), he realised that all the other things he was running for earlier were like dung, garbage, or rubbish. It was like finding the pearl of greatest value, and selling off all other pearls and buying this one (Matt.13:45,46).
In Romans 7, Paul mentions a fight that was going on inside him. He had set his mind on always doing the right thing before God, he experienced a pull from his old nature that sometimes ended up causing him to do wrong things he never wanted to do. This was not a fight that came from other people or the world, but from within himself. This is a fight which all those who have set their mind on God find within themselves. The great thing about Paul is that he did not give up, and he completed this race.
Finished the course
God had entrusted Paul with a great course. He was a leading apostle and evangelist, he had written a large portion of the New Testament, he had set up many churches all over the then known world, etc. What course are we trying to complete? Are we running this race with any course at all? If we are born again children of God, we are members of the body of Christ where Christ is the Head. Our part is to do whatever the Head tells us. All of us have different tasks to complete. Not all of us are going to be prominent and known to the others. There are many who are carrying out their ministries faithfully before God without even being recognised for them by people around them. We need to examine ourselves to see if we are carrying out any ministry at all. Are we satisfying ourselves thinking that as long as we have given some money to the church we have done our part and that ministry will be carried out by some others in the church? Of course, ministry is not about getting a degree from a Bible college and declaring ourselves as ministers of God. It is a task God has entrusted to us. If we have not become aware of any particular task God has given to us, we can ask Him, "Lord, what do You want me to do for You?" We can usually recognise our ministry by a burden He gives us when we see some need around us. As we try to do something from our side we find that our human abilities are not sufficient to meet those needs. When we ask God concerning this, He may give us some spiritual gifts or bring us across others with whom we can work together. What Paul was saying here is that he had completed the task God had entrusted to him.Kept the faith
It is not enough to start in faith, but it is necessary to avoid losing the faith and to hold on to faith till the end. The opposite of keeping the faith is to lose it. Some people wrongly believe that once they are saved they will be always safe. Salvation is by grace, and we receive it through faith (Eph.2:8). What happens if we give up our faith? We have only to look around and see many people who started on this race give up somewhere along the way. For some people, they could not bear to face the fact that God did not answer one of their prayers. They conclude that this God cannot be trusted, He does not care for them, etc., and give up on Him. Some others get confused with a philosophical question such as the one about how an almighty and loving God can tolerate so much of evil in this world. They come to the conclusion that God does not exist and give up the faith they used to have earlier. Some get disillusioned with Christianity when they see some Christian fail, thinking that if it did not work for him, it cannot work for them also. Paul stood to the end without giving up his faith. That was how he was able to complete his race.Are we in this race at all? If you have not yet entered into this race, do get in immediately. We do not know how much time is left for any of us. We are not in a position to make any long term plans, or even short term plans. Don't miss this race and the eternal life that is kept for us as we run this race. The others who are already running this race must pay attention to make sure that we complete it without giving up. We may have to face a lot of trouble and opposition. But there is a victor's crown that the Lord will give to everyone who completes his race (Jas.1:12).