Finishing Well Requires Starting Somewhere
One of my advisors is in his 80s. I’ve viewed him as such for only a couple years now. It has been a relationship that has immensely blessed me in a short amount of time. The very first phone call with him ended with him asking, “Warren, can I pray for you”? I initially imagined he’d receive a “yes” from me, hang up, and forget to pray for me once caught back up in the machinery of this busy life. But it did not go as I thought. He started praying for me through the phone. We hadn’t even met in person. And yet here’s this great grandfather praying for and over me and my family, a household of people he did not know. It is evident that his life has been and continues to be captivated by God’s grace.
After a few months, I began to reciprocate his blessing. I asked, “how can I pray for you”? His response? Another evidence that his life has been and continues to be captivated by God’s grace. It was evident that he has a secured, eternal perspective on life; it was evident that he realizes he is not Home yet but is merely traveling through (check out the Jubilee Hummingbirds song, “Traveling”...it’s quickly become a favorite); and it is evident he desires to lean into the mighty Grace of God even in his old age. He replied, “Warren, pray that I will finish well”. What a prayer request! Oh, that this would be the prayer request that each Christian – young and old alike – would make: “pray, that I will finish well”! What a prayer to pray for yourself; what a prayer to make for those in your household; what a prayer to make for those you interact with each day!
For we do not know the day that we will breathe our last on this earth. But the Lord Almighty does – He is omniscient. The psalmist even reminds us that our days are numbered. Can you imagine if each Christian prayed such a prayer for themselves, their household, and those they encountered? “Lord, help us to finish well!” How might such a prayer alter the way we live each day? What would we fill our days with? Would our conversations be different? Would the way we treat those like us and those different from us be different?
In order to finish well, there has to be a starting point somewhere. There ought to be some steps we can take to move in that direction. Pray? Yes. Pray as often as the Spirit prompts your heart and mind. My advisor/friend has been teaching me by showing me prayer is a critical ingredient to finishing well.
There’s another critical ingredient he showed me over this past summer. I briefly shared that Jessica and I were planning to replicate our household discipleship model for others to easily implement into their homes – it involves a chalkboard plus scripture memory; it has been merely too simple and too impactful not to replicate for others. He smiled and quipped, “memorizing Bible verses is important”, as he pulled a small slip of paper out of his white, button down shirt’s pocket. He, too, continues to memorize Bible verses, even in his old age. What an incredible measure he’s taking each week in order to finish well!
Christian, start today. Whether you use chalktalX or some other means of memorizing and discussing scripture – start today so that you and your household can take such measures to finish well. Regardless of who’s in your household and what stage of life you’re in — start today. Finishing well requires starting somewhere. For we are merely “traveling through this barren land” (Jubilee Hummingbirds) and need all the help we can to get Home safely. May God Almighty cause you to finish well.
Written by Warren M. Grimm