Fight

 2 Timothy 4:7 ESV 

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  

 

We could read this verse in isolation and think that it is individualistic. It is a personal testimony, but it is in the context of Christian community. This is part of an open letter from the Apostle Paul to pastor Timothy after all.

I don't think Paul's thinking of a one to one boxing match with the devil in terms of the good fight. I picture him in the tortoise shell of Roman legionnaires battling horses of barbarian demons in the spiritual realms. There's no retirement in God's kingdom, but he knew his time was drawing to a close.

I think of the race of life as being like the London Marathon. Yes, there's competition. Yet it's also collegiate: people spurring one another on and encouraging each other.

How do we keep the faith? By battling the doubt that so easily assails us. We don't have to guilt trip ourselves over doubt, but we do have to overcome it: those who endure to the end will be saved, not those who give up halfway there.

'Sovereign Lord, may we have Paul's kind of testimony at the end of our days. If we do, we recognise that it's only by your grace. For your glory, amen'.
 

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