Saturday Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8
Key Verse: 2 Timothy 4:7
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.
Devotion:
What better words could we say to others than those Paul wrote here to Timothy? The martyrs had given their lives for the cause of Christ. Paul knew that as a Christian he had done what he could and could quite safely say that he had fought the good fight right up to the end. It was not about how much he had changed or about how much he could show others how good he was, but simply being satisfied that what he had done was his best for Christ!
Once Paul had got to know Christ as his Saviour his life changed from being the evil anti-Christian that he was to being the servant of God. As a servant he had done God’s bidding whenever it was required. He had turned his back on his old ways and turned to embrace the ways of Christ through faith in what he knew from the gospel as well as what others had told him about Jesus. Because of his faith he had a comfort from Christ that exceeded that that he had known through his former self.
What we gain as Christians is not through what we can do but what Christ has given us. If it were through what we could do then we would have to fear death because that would mean the end of what we could do; instead, because we gain everything through what Christ has already done for us, we can rest assured that when our time does come we too can know that we have fought the good fight. As a believer in an evil world we still have the face the same things as others will face; we face sickness, pain, poverty and even death. But as a believer we can face it all squarely in the face and know that Christ is by our sides and that He has already paid our price so that we can join Him in heaven. Is it not fair then that we do what we can here and now to give Him thanks for all that He has already done for us?
Points to Ponder:
What sort of things do the face in life?
What has Christ already prepared for you in heaven?
