GROOVE OF GRACE
[ FINISH WELL , ONE DAY AT A TIME | Rick Cua ]
“ Therefore , since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses , let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles . And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us .” Hebrews 12:1
Throughout my lifetime I have heard people use the expression , “ Finish well .” Mostly is has been in reference to the final finish , the end of one ’ s life . I can remember doing a concert for a church when I was somewhere in my midforties . When I finished what seemed to be a successful night , both musically and at the altar , the Pastor ’ s wife came up to me , looked me square in the eyes and said , “ Rick , you are going to finish well .” I was both encouraged and petrified ! I was already dealing with middle age ; “ Do I still have value ? Am I still effective ? And , what happened to my hair ?” It almost seemed like a prophetic utterance of my impending demise .
It probably took months to shake off what I should have known in the first place : Finishing well is a daily hope . The future reward for finishing every day well is the cumulative effect of all those days lived for Christ adding up to the grand finale : The final finish and hearing the Master say , “ Well done , good and faithful servant .”
“ Do you not know that those who run in a race all run , but one receives the prize ? Run in such a way that you may obtain it .” 1 Corinthians 9:24
There is a prize for finishing well . Not a prize from competing with others , but a prize based on what we have been given and what we have chosen to do with it . It ’ s our race , and although others are in the race , it ’ s between us and God . To me , the others in our personal race are the distractions that can slow us down . Whether it ’ s other people or other thing . Will they win , or will we ? By God ’ s power working in and through us we need to choose to persevere and come out not only ahead , but also with God ’ s great approval .
We ’ ve all heard the term “ personal best ”, and the Army slogan , “ Be All That You Can Be .” It ’ s about us developing and nurturing the things God has entrusted to us . Whether it ’ s our gifts and talents or the people in our lives or in our path ; what we do with these things is the true measure of who we are .
Remember , we are loved by God unconditionally , yet to steward what we have been given and to take seriously our calling and mission is to please God at another level . We have been given a gift , a free gift . It doesn ’ t end there ; this incredible gift is just the beginning . I ’ m always reminded of the familiar scripture that says , “ Faith without works is dead .” Our personal faith is completed when we transition to heaven , but we leave a legacy behind to encourage others in their journey .
We all know what the word legacy means but rarely think about it when we are young . It ’ s only when we become more concerned with doing things that are significant and have lasting impact does legacy move from lower case to backlit bold caps . While we as believers are promised eternity , we only have our appointed time here on earth . The Word compares our life to a vapor , here . . . then gone . ( James 4:14 NKJV ). Scriptures like these have more meaning as life progresses . Remember when you were a kid and 50 seemed unfathomably old ? Well , there will come a day for many of us when we are decades beyond that . Some will wish they could go back in time , while others will still feel and have the ambition of a 30 year old . May the latter be true for us because of our living Christ and the Word of hope that ’ s written on our hearts .
I pray for myself and all of us that God will fill us with His strength and keep our eyes fixed on Him . That He points us always in the direction that leads to our ordained path and that He would help us finish each day well , starting with today , and finishing with the grand sum of a life well lived for Him and those we love .
CONTINUED ...
SOUND CHECK continued from 43
case two good things are already coming out of this retirement from Shawn . First of all , he does want to still do some artist interviews from time to time so we won ’ t be losing him completely , and secondly , he was the one who went out and found his columnist replacement before he even told me he was stepping down .
I agree with his headhunting efforts , so this issue we also welcome Robert Berman to our group of writers and he is already doing great in the wake of Shawn ’ s firm foundation .
Few people can claim that they wrote for the same publication for over 17 years – that is quite an accomplishment in itself , but to be such a good and caring friend to Judy and I for all this time to needs to be expressed as well .
We love you Shawn – we will pray for your health and healing and we appreciate all of your efforts for this magazine … thank you from the bottom of our hearts !
Bruce & Judy
Sep � Oct 2016 ChristianMusician . com
43
9