Finish Well

"She finished well." That is what I pray people say about me when I am "done." Done with homeschooling, done with raising my children, done with life. I hope God says, "Well done, good and faithful servant," but I hope the people I encounter on earth or the people who stand by my graveside say "She finished well."

I heard someone speak years ago at our homeschool convention and they said, "No one is going to remember how you started out, but they are going to remember how you finished, so finish strong." Every time I am tempted to give up this marathon that we call homeschooling, every time I listen to my kids fighting in the back of the car, every time one of my teenagers has an emotional outburst directed at me - I remember this statement and I keep on keeping on. I intend to finish what I started, no matter how many scars I bear when I cross the finish line.

The same applies to the Christian life. Today in a Bible study I attend the speaker spoke on this very topic. We are studying the Divided Kingdom and so far we have looked deeply into the life of King Soloman. Here is a man who started well, but did not finish strong. Soloman started out the favored son of King David himself, a "man after God's own heart." Soloman was charged to build the temple of the Lord, a beautiful masterpiece worth multi-billions in today's currency. God Himself appeared to Soloman and offered him absolutely anything his heart desired! He chose wisdom, a very wise choice indeed and God blessed him for it. God granted him the wisdom he desired, plus made him the richest and most powerful man of his time! Wow! You would think that this would be enough to secure his allegience to the One True God. But, we see that "Soloman loved many foreign women." Uh-oh. Therein lies the problem. Soloman was told by God not to amass riches on his own, not to multiply his wives, not to marry pagen women who would turn his heart from the true God. However, he ignored these warnings and he began to do all of these things. Soon enough, he was told that after his death, God would rend the Kingdom of Israel from the hands of Soloman's son and divide it, leaving only one tribe for the House of David and giving the rest to a subordinate. So, Soloman died, without fanfare, without leaving any words of wisdom behind for his son the new King, and wholly without committment to the Lord, the God of his father David. How truly sad.

As I was thinking on this today, I pray that I can run with faith the race God has marked for me. I pray that as I live my life day to day, with all the distractions of the world around me, with all of the blessings of children, husband, homeschooling - that somehow I can prevent my heart from being divided. That all of my loyalty can remain with the One True God, the King of Kings, the Lover of my soul, my Savior, Jesus Christ. He has given me much, and He expects much. Not to earn my salvation, He has secured that for me on the cross, once and for all. But, in order that my light can shine out in a world that seems to be falling apart, I must finish well, I must continue to run with perseverence. So, today, I just want to encourage you to run your race with perseverence. Do not let anything distract you from the prize. Finish well.