Finishing The Course

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 322, Finishing The Course.

"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." Acts 20:24.

This is a farewell speech. Paul is at Miletus, he has called the Ephesian elders together for one last meeting, and he knows — he really knows — he may never see these faces again. It's the kind of moment when people tend to say what actually matters, without dressing it up. And that is exactly what Paul does here.

He says: I do not account my life of any value to myself. That might sound harsh at first, almost like he doesn't care about living. But that's not it. Paul loved life — he traveled, he wrote letters full of affection, he rejoiced with the brothers and sisters. What he's saying is something else: his life is not the most precious thing he protects at all costs. Something outweighs it.

And what outweighs it is finishing the course. Notice the image — a race, not a stroll. A race has a beginning, a route, a finish line. And what matters isn't running beautifully at the start; it's crossing the line at the end. How many people start something well — a task, a calling, a marriage, a faith — and then quit halfway, when exhaustion sets in? Paul is saying: I don't want to be like that. I want to cross the line.

And he adds something important: "the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus." Paul didn't invent this mission himself. It was given to him. And that changes everything — because once you understand your purpose came from God, you stop carrying alone the weight of justifying your own existence. You only need to be faithful to what was entrusted to you.

And what is the final aim of all this? To testify to the gospel of the grace of God. It's not chasing fame, not leaving behind a great name, not even surviving safely. It's pointing, with your very life, to the grace that saves. Everything Paul would go on to face — imprisonment, shipwreck, trial before kings — gained meaning because it served that greater purpose.

I want to ask you: is there a mission you sense God has entrusted to you? It might be caring well for your family. It might be work that looks small but you know is your calling. It might be a word of hope that only you can give to one specific person. Whatever it is — are you running toward the finish line, or have you already stopped somewhere in the middle?

Today I want to invite you to do two things. First, write in a single sentence what that mission is that you sense is yours. Second, take one step — however small — toward finishing that race well today, not tomorrow.

Life is not the trophy you need to protect at all costs. It is the race you were called to run to the very end.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.