As followers of Jesus we should, in fact we must, think about finishing well as we age. That has driven me to find those places within the Word of God where people finish, either well or not so well. At 65 years of age and in the midst of a ministry transition myself, I am looking at biblical patterns for help.
Have you ever noticed that a very large number of men and women within the Word of God do not finish well? That is a sad and sobering reality. But that is for another study.
Still, do not miss that the biblical landscape is littered with the sad and sordid collapse of women and men of truly distinguished promise and service.
In a handful of verses in John 3, this servant of God describes how he lived and how he saw his Lord, his life, and himself as he finished.”
John the Baptist is an exception. He is one individual who self-consciously laid down his work and stepped aside very well – so well, in fact, that Jesus himself said this about him: “No one born of woman is greater.” (Matthew 11:11). Not only did he finish well, but he carefully articulated how he saw himself to the men he was commending to Jesus’ rule and service. That articulation is a treasure trove of truth. In a handful of verses in John 3, this servant of God describes how he lived and how he saw his Lord, his life, and himself as he finished.
When John’s disciples had an overinflated view of John and an underestimation of Jesus, John delineated a prescriptive series of truths that are breath-taking in their corrective and directive to each of us who, like John, are finishing.
Directive and corrective number 1: We need a pervasive grasp that all of our life, in every single positive and negative part, is a gift from above.
John 3:27: “John answered, ‘A person cannot receive even one thing, unless it is given him from heaven.’”
I would imagine the tendency for us all is to accept the agreeable things of life as a gift from heaven, while on the contrary to see the unwanted things as an interruption or mere aggravation.
It is certainly not wrong, in fact it is biblically commanded, that we ask God to take away the negative aspects of life. However, if they remain, as John sees it, they are an assignment of our beneficent King. That can be a real game-changer.
Every tear-stained moment is to be seen as an assignment with a divine intent behind the content of the difficulty. I have fought anxiety and depressive fearfulness for four decades of my life. I have asked and cried out for it to be taken away; so have my bride, my children, and I am quite certain, many colleagues. God has said, thus far, “No.” Seeing the lingering battles of four decades of my life as an assignment, and not an interruption, for my Christian life has been transformative. John was right. I need this pervasive grasp of life to steward the pain and problems well.
Directive and corrective number 2: We need to practice locating our deepest joy in serving Jesus in his world and hearing Jesus in his Word.
John 3:29: “The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine and it is now complete.”
John saw himself as an attendant to Jesus, the groom coming for his bride, the church. Serving the greatest groom as he pursues his bride was John’s honor. But more than honor, to serve him and to hear Jesus’ voice was his consummate joy. It was a joy that was “complete.”
Granted, John’s place in redemptive history was singular indeed. However, the principle is very applicable to us all. If we locate our deepest joy in anything created then it will finally be taken from us. But locating our greatest joy in Jesus’ service and relishing his Word means we can savor and celebrate these realities through the darkest, most difficult, and even deadliest moments we face. May I say, having been a pastor since 1978: I have seen that joy in people’s lives again and again and again in the worst moments they have faced. It is true. I have seen it.
I praise God for John’s words about his finishing. They are helping me right now as I sit at the feet of the man Jesus called the greatest man born of woman. (Matthew 11:11)