October 25, 2004
What Are You Living For?
Read: 2 Timothy 4:6-18
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. —2 Timothy 4:7
Bible In One Year: Jeremiah 6-8; 1 Timothy 5
Many people living in their twilight years suddenly realize how empty and pointless their lives have been. They've made some successful business deals and had some fun, but in terms of satisfying friendships or lasting accomplishments, their lives have been zero. They have climbed the ladder of success, only to discover that all the while it had been leaning against the wrong wall.
As the apostle Paul looked back on his ministry, he saw that it had been rewarding but not easy. Measured by the world's yardstick of success, his life seems almost insignificant.
Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy while languishing in a cold, damp dungeon awaiting execution. In a matter of weeks, the apostle would stand before Nero, the half-insane emperor of Rome, and his life would end. But he knew that after his death he would receive the crown of life from the King of kings. And we now know that the influence of his life changed the course of history itself.
An ancient historian would have written volumes about the splendor of Nero and probably never even mentioned Paul. Yet today we name our dogs Nero and our sons Paul. I guess what we live for is pretty important after all.
By the way, what are you living for? —Haddon Robinson
One life to do my part,
One life in which to give my all
With fervency of heart. —Brandt
There are no losers with Jesus and no winners with the devil.