“For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’” — Luke 14:29-30
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I remember watching a track and field race during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. A young American, Noah Lyles, was favored to win a medal in the event. The gun went off and the runners burst out of the starting blocks. Lyles was in contention most of the race, and it appeared likely that he would grab a podium finish. However, in the final strides toward the finish line, he appeared to back off slightly and was just edged out for a medal. It was a startling and disappointing result.
Talking to the media afterward, Lyles admitted that instead of pushing hard all the way to the end and running through the line, he pulled up and tried to cruise — the difference between a medal and no medal at all. He added that he would never make such a crucial error ever again. He didn’t, at least at the most recent Olympics in Paris, where he came away from with gold and bronze medals.
Finishing well is important to God. All throughout the Bible, we are given instructions that teach us not just to make it to the end, but to make it to the end strong. Ecclesiastes 7:8 tells us that “the end of a matter is better than its beginning,” and Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 8:11 that just as we have the desire to start or pursue something, so we also ought to complete it. Elsewhere, in Philippians 1:6, he states God, who began a good work in us, will also see it through to the end. And, since we serve such a God, we also ought to be people of diligence and perseverance who “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, NASB).
We’re all in a race. Hebrews 12:1 says as much. Each one of us is striding toward the finish line of eternal glory, doing our best to pace ourselves and press forward in the things God has called us to. But maybe some of us have become too confident and are trying to cruise to victory while others who are determined to finish well are closing the gap on us. Maybe some of us are just simply tired and want to back off our pace and hope we make it across. In either case, we need to encourage ourselves to tap into God’s strength. To not lose courage, and instead find the motivation we need to keep running through the line.
Doing life with God, running this race, is hard work. There are sweat and tears involved, and challenges along the way that take it out of us — no doubt! But I don’t think we want to be numbered with those who, like the builder mentioned in Luke 14 (above), start this journey with God with good intentions but lack the will to complete the race. We “began to build but [weren’t] able to finish.”
Don’t be like Noah Lyles and regret later that you failed to run through the line. Finish well so that, one day, you can hear the words said to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant! … Come and share your master’s happiness” (Matthew 25:23).
— Katherine Singer
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