Finish Well

I have a friend with Gideons International who has called me periodically for years to ask how they could pray for my ministry. Anticipating retirement in a couple years I shared with Bob that he could pray that my desire would be fulfilled to finish well, whenever that will be.

I recently ran across a song by a southern gospel group, Greater Vision, that seemed to encapsulate my desire better than I could otherwise describe it:

“Only two words will fulfill me/When I see His face/For there’s eternal meaning/In this one little phrase/When this life is overAnd the next one’s begun/I want to start with Well Done!”

I finished my pastoral ministry at the end of 2022. I hope I finished well in God’s eyes. But my ministry is not over yet. I didn’t know back then that being diagnosed with cancer would coincide with my transition to retirement. Barring a supernatural intervention of divine healing, my doctor says I probably have 2-3 more years, more or less to serve the Lord. My prayer desire still is to serve Him the best that I can and to finish well. It’s not man’s approval but God’s.

How about you? Whatever your God-calling is, whether it be in vocational “paid” ministry or as a faithful Christ-follower, those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” should eagerly await us if we finish well. May that be the true desire for you and for me until our last breath.