II Tim. 4:7 ... "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith."
Today's experiences are tomorrow's memories. The comfort, satisfaction, and fulfillment that future reminiscences will convey therefore depend upon what you do in life day after day. A life that is spent in the quest for pleasure and the gratification of sensual appetites will produce an end that is devoid of the same. The writer of Ecclesiastes experienced such a course in life and wrote: "I said to myself, 'Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.' And behold, it was futility," (2:1). His judgment after he had drunk long and deep of the spring of pleasure was "futility," meaning that in the end it yielded nothing of value. Likewise, a life that is consumed in the drive to become rich in worldly goods might end indeed in such coveted opulence, but there is abundant indication that the soul is left in a dissatisfied and wretched condition. In I Tim. 6:7-10 the inspired writer tells us: "We have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang." Also, a life that is devoted to the goals of power, fame, and public praise usually peak somewhere in the process and then decline into weakness, obscurity, and perhaps even ridicule by the new generation so that one reaches the end burdened with sadness and bitterness. The writer of Ecclesiastes traversed this course and then wrote: "There is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die! So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind, " (2:16-17).
But a life that is lived in Christ and in the service of God is one which knows no regret, no sorrow, and no failure in its earthly conclusion. It might involve more physical suffering than pleasure; it might involve more material deprivation than abundance, and it might evoke more public scorn than praise. A Christian enjoys the amenities of life as much as anyone else, but he also sees something far greater and more desirable in sacrificial devotion to his Lord, and he is quite willing to forego what unbelievers covet and struggle for in order to achieve what he perceives as better. His conviction is that of Rom. 8:18, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."
Rather than consume his life in the effort to enjoy worldly pleasures and rewards, a Christian will devote his life to the tasks of waging a good fight against evil and promoting righteousness. Each day he will commit himself to run indefatigably the course that eventually leads to the finish line of success and the "crown of righteousness" for all who cross it. With every stride of the long race he will adhere persistently to a faith in Christ that is never shaken by doubt, weakened by temptation, or drained by carelessness or worldly distractions.
Such a life does not usually attract public attention, win the acclaim of society or increase in wealth and power during its progress. And it does not produce the sensual pleasure that is so pursued as the essential factor in the so-called "good life." But as the course of worldly life concludes in a mood of dissatisfaction, emptiness, and regret, the Christian way ends in an aura of fulfillment, victory, and joy. And it alone can look beyond the portal of death to an eternal reward of unabated joy, peace, security, and rest.
