FINISHING WELL
I have watched the events unfold in Afghanistan the last several days and it is heartbreaking and disappointing on so many levels. Christians are now in danger of severe persecution and even death. Not to mention what might happen to anyone who helped fight against the Taliban.
My son Matt served in Afghanistan for a year. We lived through a season of intense concern and trepidation. When your son carries a weapon every day, has his blood type on the front of his uniform and lives in a war zone it is tough to be a parent. Of course, he lived that life and death reality day after day.
It is so shocking to see how it has ended. There may be differences of opinion on whether America should have left a small military force or simply withdrawn completely. But what is not debatable is how poorly we left and how the ending should have been different.
These events illustrate why it is so important to not just start well but finish well. America started well essentially achieving our initial military objectives in a couple of years. We knew for years we would be leaving but when it came time to do it, we did not do it well.
Dr. Robert Clinton researched leaders in the Bible and church history. He determined that 70% started well but did not finish well. It’s simply easier to start well than to finish well. The consistency it takes to stay after something and complete it is hard to accomplish. But it can be done.
The Apostle Paul was obsessed with finishing well. He saw life as a race - a marathon not a sprint. At the end of his life, he wrote in II Timothy 4:7, “I have fought well. I have finished the race and I have been faithful.”
To finish well does not mean reaching perfection. It means you are still growing spiritually, sharing the gospel, living as a fully devoted follower of Christ. You are relentlessly seeking to know and do God’s will, to fulfill His plan for your life.
Almost all who don’t finish well fail in the inner life. They sacrifice their integrity and make bad choices. Spending devotional time with Jesus every day creates the Christlike character needed for the long haul.
The goal is to finish well. And not just at the end of your life but each day, week, month and year. When you make finishing well an attitude and a habit. You will end well.
