Finishing Well
Our ministry is to create an environment where the Holy Spirit can come help himself to our lives. Paul said, “I am poured out on the altar as a drink offering. (As a sweet smelling savor unto God.)” In 2 Timothy, Paul emphasizes the importance of finishing well. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 says, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
In Corinthians Paul said by inspiration, I eagerly await the day when I shall be clothed with a new body at Christ’s return. Each project has a finish line. We have to plan to finish well and to celebrate the fulfillment of God’s plan. To finish well we need to prepare our hearts to have the right attitude when we cross the finish line.
Every loving relationship in this life will end in pain except for one. Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Pete’s wife Suzan knew that she had terminal brain cancer six months before she died. Pete says that these six months were some of the most glorious days of their forty nine years of marriage as Suzan prepared her heart to finish strong. On Valentine’s Day in 2017, Pete and Suzan went to see their family doctor because she was experiencing memory loss, confusion, and mild dementia. The doctor came into the room after they ran some tests and said, “Suzan, you have a brain tumor.” Their friend Jerry Leachman recommended a renowned brain surgeon at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston to perform the surgery to remove her tumor. Suzan never cried about her painful treatments during her ordeal with cancer. However the night before her surgery, there was a prayer vigil at Mariner’s church in Irvine where hundreds of people prayed for her. She cried when she heard that two hundred people were praying for her. She also cried when she heard that some benefactors had paid for her treatment.
After Pete and Suzan returned home, they were meditating one morning and Suzan said, “I’m so disappointed this morning.” When Pete asked her why she said, “Because I thought that when I woke up this morning, I’d be in the arms of my Heavenly Father.” Pete said, “How will I be able to live my life without you?” Suzan reassured him, “You’ll be just fine.”
Our times are in God’s hands. God is sovereign and we’re not. Many years earlier, when Pete was in the father’s waiting room and Suzan was in labor with their second son, the doctor said, “we’re losing the baby’s heartbeat.” Pete prayed, “God please spare my wife and my baby.” God responded, “how much control do you have over this?” Pete answered, “none.” Then God asked, “no matter the outcome of this situation, will you still honor, love and praise me?” Pete searched his heart. Then he responded, “Lord you know all things. I will honor, love and praise you no matter what.” Then the doctor came into the waiting room and said, “I’m sorry, but we lost the baby.” Because God had prepared his heart, Pete and Suzan were able to praise God through the pain of losing their baby.
Our planning for the pain and tribulation of life will allow us to focus on the crown of righteousness that God has in store for us. The devil will use pain to question the love, mercy and grace of God. However through pain and tribulation, we will learn that tribulation worketh patience and patience experience and experience hope and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us. Through pain we will learn, as did the Apostle Paul, that when I am weak in myself then I am strong in Him.
When Pete and Suzan returned home from Houston, they couldn’t understand why she had persistent double vision. In May they did two days of testing and could not find a reason for her problem. After an MRI, the oncologist at UCLA couldn’t find any evidence of cancer. Later, an ophthalmologist in Newport Beach ran another MRI and a spinal tap. They looked at the results and this new MRI showed that there were tumors all over her brain. Shortly thereafter they made an appointment for treatment at UCI Medical Center. The doctor said, “How aggressively do you want to treat this?” Pete said, “what do you mean by aggressive?” The oncologist said, “It means that we’ll need to act immediately. We’ll bore a hole through her skull and begin injecting treatments directly into her brain.” They asked “How much time will that give her?” The oncologist said, “It may not give her any more time or it may give her another two years.” Then they asked, “how much time will she have without treatment?” The oncologist said, “maybe another month or two.” Suzan said, “I don’t want any more treatment.”
Suzan lived another three and a half weeks. These were three of the most glorious weeks of their marriage. Life is more precious the less of it you have. It’s precious because it’s rare. During these precious weeks with close friends and family they focused on what was the most important. They came to understand the meaning of the song by Casting Crowns that the most important thing is “Only Jesus.”
Our challenge is to thank God for this day he has given us. Regardless of how we feel or the pain and tribulation of life, as Paul said, “I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” To finish well, focus on the crown of righteousness that he has prepared for us. From the lyrics of an old hymn of the faith, “All my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the Old Rugged Cross, and exchange it one day for a crown.”
In finishing well, may we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
MIchael