2 Timothy 4:6-8
Did you hear about the Arab Emirate’s weight lose campaign for Dubai this past summer? It was a 30-day reward based weight lose campaign. Residents were weighted at the beginning, given advise and information on healthy ways to lose weight, and weighted again after 30 days. As long as you lost 4 lbs you received a prize: gold! 1 gram of gold for every 4 lbs! What an incentive program! Guess what they called the program? “Your weight in gold.” At the end of the 30 day program the Emirate gave 2.6 million dollars worth of gold.
I once heard a pastor say, “Being a Christian is the best choice! Even if God doesn’t exist, and the Bible is not real living as a christians makes you a better person. But if God does exist and the Bible is real, and you live life as a faithful Christian…well, then you’ve secured the ultimate retirement plan - eternal life.”
Paul’s letter to Timothy covers a lot of important topics including eternal reward.
Eternal reward is something every Christian should think about! Because it is completely related to…
The life we live
2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race…”
These are pictures that represent the substance of Paul’s life. He can anticipate his eternal reward precisely because he fought the good fight, and finished the race! On Judgement Day he can stand firm on the life he lived as evidence that he “fought the good fight and finished the race.”
The Bible is clear: one day we will stand before a righteous Judge, and we will be asked to account for the life we lived. One of my most trusted spiritual mentors said to me once, “We have to live our life in anticipation of one day standing before our Maker; I want there to be enough evidence to find me guilty of being a good and faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.” Eternal reward is something every Christian should think about! Because it is completely related to the life we live.
The faith we keep
Paul concludes verse 7 with a wonderful affirmation, “I have kept the faith.”
He was able to fight the good fight, and finish the race because he kept the faith. You see it faith in Jesus Christ that sets us free; that unties the chains so we can fight and race. Without faith, we have nothing! How can we live a good and faithful life without having faith in Jesus Christ? How can we live free from sin, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, without faith in Jesus Christ?
In the cartoon strip Peanuts Lucy and Linus are sitting on the couch, and Lucy asked Linus to get her a glass of lemon aid. Now if you don’t know Lucy, she a mean sort always treating others a little rough. Linus says, “Why should I get you a glass of lemon aid? What have you ever done for me.” Lucy replies, “On your 75th birthday I’ll bake you a cake.” And with that Linus heads to the kitchen for the lemon aid. The strip closes with Linus saying, “life is so much easier when you have something to look forward to.”
Why do we sacrifice so much, give so much, and work so hard at the Christian life, why is it so important - because one day we will all stand before our Maker and the life we live and the faith we keep will provide the evidence of being found guilty of being a faithful christian.
