Nearing Home

Nearing Home

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

“The time of my departure is at hand.” A most valiant pilgrim is nearing home. Slowly the moorings are being cast off and the soul of the Apostle Paul will soon be in the Haven of rest. For the average one such an hour would be one of sorrow and sadness. But not with the Apostle, he is in an exultant mood. This is not surprising for we know that death held no fear for Paul. He wrote to his friends at Philippi … Philippians 1:21-23 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better." And again he wrote to the Corinthians, "For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:1-6, 8)

Looked at with human eyes Paul’s life at this time was a failure. Paul had correctly described himself as the slave of Jesus Christ. Not an abject Roman slave driven by the whip of a cruel and heartless master who could have been made to work as long and hard as Paul worked. He had taxed his body to the most, he had endured persecution and derision from those who should have been his friends, and would have been, if he had not forsaken the religion of his fathers. He had followed the advice he offered Timothy: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.” And what had become the outcome of it all? The Churches which had been established were but mere handfuls of Christians in cities over run with pagans. There are countless cities in which no Church had been established. The Churches that had been established have already shown evidence of falling away from their first zeal and enthusiasm. In the eyes of the world his work has the appearance of failure.

Then look at his life in regard to himself. His own personal life in the eyes of the world would be marked a failure. He had given up much and apparently gained little beyond trouble and disgrace. He had given up an honored position in the Jewish Church. No doubt he could have been an honored member of the Sanhedrin, an outstanding Rabbi known and loved by all. His life of tremendous effort had led for the third time to confinement in a Gentile prison, from which nothing but death was likely to release him.

And yet, in spite of all this, as Saint Paul looks back over his life he is exultantly triumphant. This is possible because he looked upon the troubles of the time in light of the glories of eternity. The success or failure of his life is not to be judged by the standards of man, but by the standards of God who had separated him and called him to proclaim the gospel. Thus he is able to testify – 2 Timothy 4:7-8. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing." This is not boasting, it is a mere statement of fact. Paul knew his own heart and conscience, it does not condemn. He has been true to the calling of God. His ideal in life was Christ, his goal was to proclaim the gospel, and Christ was his power … "For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Philippians 4:13) "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." (Galatians 2:20)

“I have fought the good fight.” The Christian life is ever a fight that goes on, on the battlefield of the soul. There is ever a struggle between good and evil, between right and wrong. Paul give expression to this conflict, "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7:18-25) This struggle is common to all. It was present in the life of Christ, perhaps on more occasions than we realize, i.e. at the temptation, on the mount of transfiguration, in Gethsemane, during the trial, on the cross, and other occasions. We find it present in our lives, for as Peter says, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

It was a hard struggle for Paul who was looked upon as the leader of the forces of Christ. As the Israelites believed in overthrowing Goliath they could eventually overcome the Philistines, so did the Judaizers feel if Paul were discredited then the whole of the cause of Christ would fall.

The fight that Paul had fought was a good one. The flag was not stained, the Christ of the cross has not been dishonored. Certain skirmishes with the enemy have been lost but not without a struggle.

“I have finished my course.” I have run the race well. Some thirty years ago Paul on the road to Damascus had entered the race of Christianity. From that day onward he has run the race with all his might and strength. He knew what it meant to lay aside every weight – the weight of rich heritage, of pride in rich accomplishments. (Philippians 3) He knew what it meant to run with patience the race set before him. It took great patience – he didn’t make the progress in Christian living as rapidly as he wanted to, and those to whom he ministered often lagged far behind his leadership. He ever kept his eye upon the goal – looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

“I have kept the faith,” I have guarded the treasure well. We have no doubt what Paul meant by the faith, the gospel which God had committed unto him which is able “to make wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.”

How wonderful to come to the end of one’s life secure in the knowledge that he had been true to the faith. There are those who are not true to the faith which was committed to them through word of mouth, or by deed of life and have dishonored it.

The very nature of that faith demanded that it be propagated. It is not to be kept local in the citadel of one’s mind. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the Excellency of the power might be of God and not of us.” It would seem to me that also this treasure is in earthen vessels that they might be broken that the light of the gospel might shine.

No wonder that Paul could say: “There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me in that day.”

A.   Reward for services.

B.   Attainment of life’s goal – the righteousness of Christ.

This reward is not for Paul only but them that also long for His appearing. Are we among the number for whom the Lord has a crown of righteousness in store? Are our lives such that we are longing for Christ’s return? If like Paul you know the time of your departure was at hand what would your attitude be? Could we welcome the news of unexpected fulfillment of a long cherished wish that Christ would deliver us out of the miseries of this present life and take us to be with Him? Would it delight us to know that the day of beholding our Savior face to face is near?

The Bible sets before us the crown of righteousness that fadeth not away and the worm that dieth not. Leaning upon God’s unfailing love let us yearn for the coming of the one, that we need never dread the others.

Dr. Robert W Kirkpatrick