THAT’LL BE ENOUGH

2 Timothy 4:6-8 (KJV)

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

There are a number of ways I could approach the passage before us.

I am going to focus my attention on verse 7.

There is first of all in verse 6 a direct statement

“the time of my departure is at hand.”

There are no more appeals.

There’s no more time to write letters.[1]

Paul isn’t expecting that someone’s prayers will be answered and he will be released, as he was when he wrote to the Philippians.

The sentence is passed.

The deed will be done.

Then there is in verse 8 a confident expectation

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Paul had lived a life of travel. His next port was heaven.

·   No sorrow

·   No regret

·   No hesitation

The miracle Paul expected was not one that would keep him here but the one that would transport him there.

In between those two verses, verse 7 gives Paul’s life in summary.

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

I want to consider each of those three:

*I. I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT

I think of this entire passage as a positive one. However, like Paul, I am a realist.

I recognize that life is difficult. It is a battle.

In any battle, there are victories and losses. There are painful defeats, and the potential for exhilarating wins.

The thing is, do you want to live your life afraid of your potential losses, or looking forward to your potential wins.

Years ago I got to meet a man who had been a ranger in WWII. He was one of those guys who parachuted out of a plane on D Day.

It was a tough, scary, and deadly thing to do.

·   A lot of those jumpers never made it to the ground alive

·   Some of them never even made it out of their planes.

This guy was telling me the story of an inspection one day.

They were all standing in line with an officer inspecting how well they were dressed and all of that.

The officer comes up to one guy, stops for a moment and said, “Son, your collar is frayed.”

His reply was, “Sir, this collar ain’t ‘fraid of nothing!”

He had a really rotten job. I have no idea if he survived his jump.

But at least he wasn’t curled up in a corner crying.

·   Life is a battle.

·   It can be hard.

·   Some of us have it harder than others.

So get up and fight the good fight!

*II. I HAVE FINISHED MY COURSE

You all know that I have been riding a bicycle pretty steady now since February. I rode just over 3500 miles in 2016.

During the year I have developed and grown various courses I can ride from my house. Right now I ride about 25 miles.

I basically ride up and down Pacific from my house to the Walmart, down to Garfield, back up to Walmart and then to the house.

There are a few other things in there depending upon how I feel that day, but that’s basically it.

There are a few places on the course that are pretty great.

They’re downhill, good bike lane, that sort of thing

There are some other places that are not so great

Up hill, no bike lane – that sort of thing.

·   Some days the rain is beating me

·   A few days the snow was sticking to me

·   A lot of days lately it is freezing cold outside

But no matter how bad I feel before and during the ride, once I pull my bicycle into the garage I can always say, “I’m glad that’s done.”

That’s where Paul is.

He’s just about to pull into the garage.

·   The snow doesn’t matter now

·   The rain doesn’t matter now

·   The hills don’t matter now

They’re done.

But what happens if I decide not to go out on my bike?

Sure, I don’t have the misery that might have been some of the ride, but neither to I get the joy of saying, “I’m glad that’s done.”

I wrote a poem in high school I want to read right now.

THE RACE OF LIFE

Starting the race, and full of grace,

The runners leave the blocks.

Full of vigor at the pull of the trigger,

They are soon racing the clocks.

The first corner's there, like a whip they tear,

Around its final bend.

They know it is good for with it they could,

Reach a lifelong end.

Using their lead to make people take heed,

They begin the straightaway.

Effort's the key; it's no cup of tea,

To put up with all the dismay.

They're in the last bend; it seems there's no end,

To its curving, twisting lanes.

But when it's all done, and they see they have won,

They realize it was worth the pain.

By Marvin McKenzie Spring 1976

I have fought a good fight

I have finished my course

Finally,

*III. I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH

Can you imagine coming to the end of your life and realizing then, you did not keep the faith?

·   What about those who have backslidden?

·   What about those who have turned away?

·   What about those who have quit on God and His church?

Conclusion

I am imagining just a bit, but I can imagine the Apostle Paul as he writes these words to Timothy.

His course is over.

He’s looking at the garage.

Thinking over his life he summarizes in just three very short phrases:

·   I have fought a good fight

·   I have finished my course

·   I have kept the faith

And in my imagination I can hear the Apostle breath a short sigh and think to himself, “And that’ll be enough.”

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[1] Though he does expect to live at least a few more months, time for Timothy to come before winter and bring his cloak.