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I Have Fought The Good Fight


           For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (II Timothy 4:6-8)

          This passage includes some statements that I would love to be able to make consistently:
I have fought the good fight.
I have finished the race.
I have kept the faith.
           Paul had the benefit of knowing how things would end up for him. I would love to be able to say those things. I may have done them, but I’m not objective about them. Right now, I’m hot, I have too much to do, and I can’t find my cell phone, and today isn’t going precisely the way I want it to in some other ways, so I’m having a pity party.
          The first piece of good news is that our estimation of our value as a drink offering, of the fight that we fought, of the race that we’ve run or of the faith we’ve kept. The second piece of good news is that the reward mentioned isn’t given for any of those accomplishments.
           The crown that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award is given to those who have longed for his appearing. That’s easy. Like so much else with God, the key and the point isn’t in what we do. It’s in what He has done, is doing or will do.

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