Finishing the Good Fight
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
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Straight to the Cross
Read Brent and Deb Dirks's moving account of their
baptism into Christ in Forthright Press' Conversion
Stories. forthrightpress.com/conversion/
COLUMN: SQUARE ONE
Finishing the Good Fight
by Richard Mansel, assistant editor
The Apostle Paul illustrates resolve and courage in the face
of opposition. He refused to back down in the battle with
Satan (Ephesians 6:10-17). We must learn to be so committed,
even in the face of fear and opposition. There is no choice
if we wish to fulfill our goal of eternal peace.
We must remember that any fight worth fighting is worth
finishing. Take a moment and let that sink in. The impact can
be powerful.
If the Christian life is worth living, it is worth finishing.
If Christ is worthy of being Lord today, he is worthy
tomorrow. He does not just cease to be the answer because our
circumstances change. He does not fluctuate like the stock
market and public opinions polls. He is the Lord and always
will be (Psalm 119:89).
If Christ were always the Lord, then why would we give up on
him? What reason would we give? Where would we go that was
better? What other perfect Lord would we find? In
1 Kings 18:17-40, Elijah proves how silly it is to follow
other gods.
In Savannah, we have the waving girl statue on River Street
that honors the life of Florence Martus. For forty years,
she came out to greet the incoming ships on the Savannah
River. During the day she would wave a cloth and at night,
a lantern. She went every day, regardless of what others
thought about her. She had a mission and refused to stop.
During the Beijing Olympics, the men and women’s track
teams had serious problems with the 4x100 relays. They
each mishandled the baton and were disqualified.
However, in the women’s race, Lauryn Williams did something
different. She went back, picked up the baton and finished
the race. They had no hope of winning but she did it anyway
because she had traveled too far and trained to hard not to
finish. People still mock her for wasting her time. However,
she finished regardless of what anyone else said.
As Christians, we also must finish the race regardless of
what anyone thinks.
"For I am already being poured
out as a drink offering, and
the time of my departure is at
hand. I have fought the good
fight, I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith. Finally,
there is laid up for me the
crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will give to me on that Day,
and not to me only but also to
all who have loved His
appearing" (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
People stood against Paul and he refused to back down. Jesus
was mocked, ridiculed and assaulted. He kept fighting. Satan
will come at us with all that he has. Fight back anyway
(James 4:7).
Paul withstood extraordinary persecutions and challenges
(2 Corinthians 11:22-28). Amazingly, Paul said his sufferings
were "light" (2 Corinthians 4:17). How would ours qualify in
the larger scheme of things?
Why do we give up so easily? Someone is insulted by another
Christian and leaves the Lord. Do we consider how illogical
this is? "They hurt me and to get back at them I will spend
an eternity in hell! That will show them!" How silly!
Florence Martus and Lauryn Williams knew they were doing the
right thing and accomplished it despite ridicule. We will all
face hostility and mocking as we forge through life committed
to righteousness. We will miss certain activities and lose
friends and family members. Remain righteous anyway. We
simply have no other alternative, if we will aspire to heaven
(Revelation 2:10).
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