And Now…..
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…. Ā “….I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.Ā And now the prize awaits me…” Ā 2 Timothy 4:7 ESV; 2 Timothy 4:8 NLT
My mother died at 9:15 a.m. this morning. It was last Thursday that I made my final trip to Englewood to visit with my mother. We had a good time together and had lunch at the senior center where she ate every day. It was that night after working outside, she began experiencing some severe pain, was hospitalized and ended at our home in hospice care.
As I prayed with her this morning just minutes before her final breath, I made reference to her being on her final “leg” of her life’s journey. She was one in the midst of her mental struggles in these final years and months held firmly to the reality that she had “heaven to gain.” I have been telling people that her attitude, as we consulted with the surgeon on Friday afternoon, when told if she didn’t have surgery she would die was, “…. and what’s the bad news!?”
To the end she held to her firm faith that God was able to heal and she would rather trust the Lord, anticipate heaven and live at peace. She did keep her faith. She always reflected on her early years in life when “bell’s palsy” twisted her face and made her shake to the point of having difficulty eating. Those years had an impact on her self-esteem that last throughout her life. However, she would often hold out her hands (even like she did last Friday in pre-op) and say, “look at me! See how steady my hands are at 92! God is able to do anything!”Ā
It was only about 10 minutes after my prayer, that my brother came to get me and Debbie to tell us that mom had taken her last breath. She had finished her race.
The metaphor of “finishing a race” takes on some significance runners. First of all, a runner knows that when the finish line is in view, there is one last spurt of effort and energy. That is so often what we observe in the final stages leading to death. There may be a temporary “rally” time. (Mom experienced that on Monday night) and then there is the “work” of dying.
But crossing the finish line gives a great sense of relief and satisfaction. The striving is over, there is the reward of finishing and finishing well and anticipating rest.
“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” (Revelation 14:13 NIV)
“And now the prize awaits meāthe crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return….” (2 Timothy 4:8 ESV)
Those two words, “and now….”Ā point us to the reality that the end is not the end. There is something coming after finishing. The end for those who place their faith in Christ and “finish the race” is the beginning of eternity in the presence of our Lord. The Bible refers to it as, “entering the joy of the Lord.”
That is a reward that makes “finishing the race” worth it. “It shall be worth it all when we see Jesus….one glimpse of His dear face, all sorrows will erase, soĀ bravely run the raceĀ till we see Christ.”