I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith… ~ 2 Timothy 4:7

Living for Christ is a marathon, not a sprint, and as believers we go through many changes and stages in our Christian experience. We must continue to grow and mature in Christ, or we will begin to wither away. Fiery zeal and passion is a trait that burns in the heart of the spiritually young, but as we grow older we ought to become seasoned in wisdom, grace, and love.

When I was 25 years old with the call to preach burning in me, I thought being spiritual was preaching, and having dreams and visions. Now I understand that it’s serving my wife and being a Christ-like example to my son, and walking in honesty, integrity, and truth. The funny thing is, the same Spirit of Christ that implanted a passion in my heart for sharing the Word of God is the same Spirit that prompts me to serve my wife.

When I was a senior in High School, I began attending a Bible Study that was held just up the road from where I lived. The man who led the Bible study became somewhat of a mentor to me over the next couple of years or so (I will refer to him as my friend the rest of the way in this post). Being hungry for the things of God, I spent a lot of time with him, and for those memories I am grateful. However, as time passed I witnessed a man who failed short of the grace he was called to walk in.

He and his wife eventually separated and his children became distanced from him. His wife later developed cancer and passed away. The announcement that he and his wife were separating coincided with his bringing an end to the Bible study. There were lots of good friendships developed among those of us who attended.

I can remember standing in the kitchen at his home and talking with his wife not long before the separation. She vented to me about his lack of doing simple things around the house which pertained to basic upkeep. I am sure she told me more, but this always stuck with me. He was a spiritual man, so I thought, but his spiritually had not translated to him rolling up his sleeves and making repairs to their home or at least calling someone who could do those repairs.

The prior owners of this home were friends of my family and it was a well kept home according to my childhood memory. Years later, it would go down hill as my friend failed to take care of it, and today it’s empty, rotting, with overgrown vegetation. It literally needs to be plowed down and cleared from the lot. The very same house that I had had so many discussions with him about the Lord is now dilapidated because he didn’t give it the attention and maintenance the home needed.

How sad.

This house truly speaks volumes to me about the Christian experience, and life in general. The sad reality is that it is a reflection of the spiritual value my friend placed on his marriage and it speaks volumes regarding his lack of growth in the grace of God he was called into. I can remember so many testimonies regarding dreams, visions, and other supernatural experiences he had claimed he had with the Lord, but when it came to real life, he couldn’t pick up a wrench and fix a leaking pipe of call someone to repair the bathroom floor that was caving in. This was his wife’s complaint if I remember correctly.

In the New Testament the apostle Paul wrote the following to Timothy:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The word of God makes the man of God thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Nothing speaks to the true character of Christ in a man more than how he values his wife, his children, and those that God has entrusted to him as family. In the book of Ephesians, Paul tells the men to love their wives as Christ loves the church and gave himself for her.

As me and my wife are in the early stages of our senior years this is something that really matters to me and because I made the vow to love my wife as Christ loved the church when we married, the conviction of the Lord abides continually in my heart to finish my race and to finish it strong. My walk with Christ and my love for my wife are inseparable, and if any man does not understand this, he does not yet understand the manner of man God has called you to be. 

Over the time I knew my friend, I noticed the flawed tendencies which aligned with what his wife had told me, and to my knowledge he never corrected them. They ultimately affected the most important relationships in his life, namely his family. When he died before he turned 60, he left behind his second wife that he had met on a mission trip to the Philippines, along with their son, a young boy. To my knowledge, his first son was still distanced from him, and to my knowledge his daughter was in the dark world of drugs and possibly prostitution. It was a bad road either way.

It isn’t supposed to end this way.

I do not write this to condemn him or anyone who has had a similar experience. My point is, the longer we serve Christ, the more like Christ we ought to become. And this Christ likeness to which we are called should show up first and foremost at home. No one knows us like those who live with us.

It’s one thing to have zeal for a season and to have a hunger for the things of God, but when the Lord calls you, it’s for the long game. It’s a marathon and not a sprint. The relationships we are intrusted with by God should not deteriorate if we are being conformed to the likeness of Christ.

If you have read to this point, I urge you not to finish like my friend. Instead, finish strong, and leave a testimony that you were faithful to God with the lives he entrusted into your care. Love your spouse, love your children, and care for the people that God puts in your life.

Everyone starts out wanting to win the world and reach the multitudes, but the reality is as we grow old, God is pleased when we serve Christ by loving those he entrusted to us.