“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” II Timothy 4:7
How wonderful it is to know that you have finished a task given to you by your heavenly Father. I recall hearing the same words from our Lord and Savior on two occasions. The first was during His last supper with His disciples He said in John 17:4-5,
“I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
He had finished all His earthly ministry and all that remained was His death and resurrection. The beauty of this prayer to me was that it meant three things were evident. The first is that He knew what His Job was. Secondly, that he knew He had completed it. Thirdly, that He knew it was time to go.
For us to live a life that finishes strong, we must be aware of the work put in our hands. What are we doing for the Lord? What has He asked of us? How are we bringing Him glory in the earth? Sometimes this may seem like a daunting task and other times it may feel as insignificant as just being alive. It is important that whatever we do, we do it in such a way that we leave no task undone.
Now, when Christ was on the cross we hear it again, John 19:30 says,
“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
This time, Jesus had really done it! He had finished the work of paying the price for our sins. The Greek word used comes from the same Greek root, telos, which means “end”, a termination point. What’s important though is the tense of this verb, it is in perfect tense. In Greek, the perfect tense signifies a past action, which continues into the present. It has been completed and is still complete.
Let us live lives aware of the work we have been given. If it’s begin a good wife, raising God-fearing children, ministering at our local church, praying for the world or running a worldwide ministry. Let us complete the work He has given us to do. Do it with vigor, passion and finish with total completeness.