Friday, May 15th

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Friday, May 15

1 Timothy 4:6-8 (NIV)
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

One of the most overused cliches in sports is when a coach or announcer refers to an athlete “leaving it all on the field.” But no matter how often it is used I still find something inspiring about watching an athlete give maximum effort in his or her endeavor.

This week we’ve followed Paul as he insists on going to Jerusalem even though he is warned repeatedly that trouble and hardship await him there. We have seen that Paul’s determination and courage are anchored in his experience with Christ. He knows that Jesus saved him from spiritual death and commissioned him to take the gospel to the Gentiles, to kings and to the children of Israel. He believes that the gospel of Jesus is a life and death issue and is therefore worth the sacrifice of everything, even his own life if need be.

In this soaring passage Paul is nearing the end of his life and is writing to Timothy, a younger man who he has mentored for a number of years. He paints a beautiful portrait of what it looks like for a follower of Jesus to “leave everything on the field.”

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.

Throughout the Old Testament a “drink offering” is described as wine that is poured out together with the offering of meat or grain as a sacrifice to God. Many see the drink offering as a precursor to the sacrifice of Christ’s blood on the cross that was poured out for the forgiveness of sin. Paul is likely referring to what he believes is his own coming death at the hands of Nero, the Roman Emperor who is believed to have eventually ordered Paul’s execution. So Paul is saying that he has poured his life out as an offering to God in gratitude for the sacrifice of Christ.

He then uses two images that come from the realm of sports.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

He compares himself to a boxer or wrestler who has fought tooth and nail to the very end; and to a runner who has crossed the finish line. Both the fight and the race are images that communicate effort, struggle and even pain. But they also bring a sense of ultimate victory and triumph.

The fight Paul has fought is the fight of faith.

The race he has run is the race of his calling.

He has been faithful to the end. He has left it all on the field.

May we all, someday, be able to say the same.

Pastor Brian Coffey