Shipwrecked


“She didn’t make it.”  “He never got here.”  “We came up short.”   The gut-wrenching words of a surgeon uttered somberly in a hospital waiting room to frantic parents.   The words of a friend reporting the progress of his buddy’s journey.  Words disclosing the disappointing results of a fund raiser.  Sad words.  Difficult words.  Life-altering words. 

Think about these words from 1 Timothy,
18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
Or these words from 2 Timothy 4:10,
10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.  Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

Shipwreck and desertion.  These are words no one serious about their faith in Christ wants to attach to a fellow traveler.   Timothy was struggling to hang on and to hang in as he served the Lord.  Paul lovingly warns him about falling away.  He offers an example not to follow.  Of some who started the trip but never finished.  Demas has deserted because his love life is messed up.  His heart is chasing the wrong passions.  And his heart has been exposed.  He doesn’t want to continue in the struggle to proclaim the Gospel with Paul.  He wants a better deal.

I’m convinced these difficult days that we’re all experiencing are from the merciful hand of God.  Hard times bring a season of disclosure when the truth comes out.  The heart is exposed and the person within is revealed.  I’m glad for these painful times because it’s an opportune time to find out who is real and who is just tagging along looking for the best deal. 

I read a verse in 1 Peter this morning that shed some light on how we persevere to the end.  How we stay in the race to win the prize.  Peter says this to those who’ve been exiled from their own country and are looking to establish homes in foreign territory (think migrants and aliens because of their faith in Christ):   

13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Peter’s saying get ready now for a future in the presence of Jesus Christ.  Makes me think about the “new normal” people are anticipating after we finally make it past this pandemic.  And that raises a question.  Would you rather,
    •  Resume the comfortable and prosperous life you enjoyed before you were shuttered?  Eat at your favorite restaurant and see that movie you’ve waited too long to see on the big screen?  Or use those MLB tickets you purchased last winter?  Watch your stocks soar again? 
    •  Let all that stuff slide into irrelevance because Jesus has come back to our planet to usher in the new heavens and new earth? 
  • People who finish well typically have their eye on the goal.  Jesus, and life with Him, is the goal. Focus there and finish strong. 

    

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