The concept of finishing well is a favorite theme of mine, and I’ve written on it previously. The idea of finishing well applies to a number of areas from finishing well in school, in your vocation, in your marriage, and ultimately your life.

I recently listened to Alistair Begg’s Truth for Life message “Climbing on Track”, on Joshua 14:6-15, in which Begg looks at Caleb’s character so that we can learn how to finish our race strong.

We all know of those who didn’t finish well. Perhaps you know of friends or family members who did not finish well. In Begg’s message, he talks about authors A.W. Pink and A.W. Tozer, and King Solomon as particular examples of those who did not finish well. Neither did hymn writer William Cowper. Sadly, neither Pink nor Cowper attended church during the last years of their lives. No matter what stage of life you are currently in, it’s important to think about how we can finish strong.

Begg talks about the life of Caleb being one of commitment in his early years, consistency in his middle years and triumphant in his later years. He tells us that the Christian life is like a cross-country run. It is not a sprint. Some start well, reading their Bible daily and getting plugged into a good church. Then, as life goes on, perhaps in their middle years, reading the Bible no longer seems as important as it once was, and attending church slowly drops off their radar.

Begg has seen a problem with those in the church in their middle years. He has seen them take “early retirement” as it were. But he says that those in their middle years are the great untapped resource of the church. They are the very backbone of the church.

He states that some churches say that the key to the church is in the youth, that they are the church of tomorrow. He believes however, that the key to the church are those in their middle years, mature men and women who have gone through experiences of life. He states that the church needs those men and women to live lives of consistency and to produce a generation underneath them marked of commitment.

If you are in your middle or later years, you may feel that you are no longer useful. You may feel that it’s time for the younger generation to take over at the church. But I would encourage you to get back to the basics of consistent Christian living – read and study your Bible, pray, serve in your church, and if possible, mentor or disciple a young member of your church. Begg says that you are the very backbone of the church.

I pray that we will all finish our cross-country Christian race strong.

Bill Pence is a St. Louis Cardinals fan, formerly a manager at a Fortune 50 organization, and in leadership at his local church. His life-long passion is to help people develop and use their strengths to their fullest potential. Bill is married to his best friend Tammy, a graduate of Covenant Seminary. Both have written a book. Bill’s book is, Called to Lead: Living and Leading for Jesus in the workplace. Tammy’s book is,  Study, Savor and Share Scripture: Becoming What We Behold are available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon. To discover more about Bill please visit his website.

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