How to Finish Well
Introduction
You can finish well. You may have had a bad start in life. You may have messed up along the way. You may have made mistakes. You may have regrets. But you can finish well and that is what matters most.
Some start well but fall. In the recession, many of the companies, that business consultant Jim Collins had profiled in his international bestseller Good to Great, fell. Even the ‘mightiest’ of companies can fall.
In his most recent book, How the Mighty Fall, he examines the path towards doom. The first stage of the process begins with ‘hubris born of success’. As with Saul in the Old Testament passage for today, it is pride and arrogance (1 Samuel 15:23) that begins the process by which the mighty fall. Saul started well but did not finish well.
It is more important to finish well than to start well. In the New Testament, Saul (of Tarsus) started off very badly (as a persecutor of Jesus) but he finished well (as the great apostle, Paul).
Jesus, as always, shows us the way. His life was relatively short. He died in his early thirties, yet he finished well. He completed the work the Father gave him to do (John 17:4). This is my ambition in life. I want to complete the work God has given me to do.
How can you make sure you finish well?
Proverbs 12:28,13:1–6
12 In the way of righteousness there is life;
along that path is immortality.
13 A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,
but a mocker does not respond to rebukes.
3 Those who guard their lips preserve their lives,
but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.
4 A sluggard’s appetite is never filled,
but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.
5 The righteous hate what is false,
but the wicked make themselves a stench
and bring shame on themselves.
6 Righteousness guards the person of integrity,
but wickedness overthrows the sinner.
Commentary
Take the long view
The writer of Proverbs encourages us to take the long view and stay in the way of ‘righteousness’ where ‘there is life; along that path is immortality’ (12:28). Avoid the temptation to focus just on the here and now. Act in the light of eternity.
What does a righteous life look like?
1. Listen to parental advice
‘A wise child heeds a parent’s instruction’ (13:1). Honouring parents is high on the list of God’s priorities. Family life and good parenting are so important. I recommend The Parenting Book by Nicky and Sila Lee.
2. Guard your lips
‘Those who guard their lips guard their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin’ (v.3). It is impossible to overestimate the importance of your words and of controlling the tongue.
3. Work hard
‘The desires of the diligent are fully satisfied’ (v.4). Work is a blessing. Success can be hard work. It requires diligent perseverance. Winston Churchill said, ‘Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.’
4. Love the truth
‘The righteous hate what is false’ (v.5). We are to hate dishonesty and to love the truth. Mark Twain once said, ‘If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.’
5. Be a person of integrity
‘Righteousness guards the person of integrity’ (v.6). Integrity does not mean being perfect. It means being honest, real and authentic (it is the opposite of hypocrisy). In his book, Integrity, the clinical psychologist Dr Henry Cloud writes that integrity ‘is the key to success. A person with integrity has the – often rare – ability to pull everything together, to make it all happen no matter how challenging the circumstances.’
Prayer
Lord, help me to be wise, to honour parents, to guard my lips, to work hard, to speak the truth and to live a life of integrity.
John 14:1–27
1 ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.’
5 Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’
6 Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’
8 Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’
9 Jesus answered: ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? ... 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
15 ‘If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever – 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. … 20 On that day you will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 … The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.’
23 ... ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
25 ‘All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 ‘But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.’
Commentary
Trust in the legacy of Jesus
Are you troubled, distressed, agitated or afraid? Jesus does not want you to be troubled, but to have peace in your heart (vv.1,27).
Jesus knew that his life on this earth was about to finish. He was about to leave his disciples (v.27); he was going back to the Father (v.3). Yet he said to them, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled, distressed, agitated’ (v.1, AMP). ‘Peace I leave with you’ (v.27). Jesus does not leave you alone but passes on to you an amazing legacy.
- Jesus has good plans for your future
Jesus says, ‘There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home... I’m on my way to get your room ready’ (v.2, MSG). In Christ, your long-term future is totally secure. - Jesus is coming back for you
The end of earthly life is not the end. Jesus told his followers, ‘I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am’ (v.3). You will be with Jesus forever. - Jesus has opened the way for you to know God
Thomas asks, ‘How can we know the way?’ Jesus replies, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ (vv.5–6). - Jesus reveals God for you
Philip says, ‘Lord, show us the Father’ (v.8). Jesus replies, ‘Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father’ (v.9). If you want to know what God looks like, look at Jesus. - Jesus will do even greater things through you
Jesus will do even greater miracles through his disciples than he did while he was on earth (v.12). - Jesus will continue to answer your prayers
‘From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do’ (vv.13–14, MSG). - Jesus will never leave you alone
Jesus says, ‘I will not leave you as orphans’ (v.18). He says that he’ll ‘provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth... he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!’ (vv.16–17, MSG). - Jesus will continue to love you
‘Those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them’ (v.21b). - Jesus and the Father will make their home with you
Jesus said, ‘Those who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them’ (v.23). - Jesus leaves you with peace
‘Peace I leave with you… Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid’ (v.27). Peace comes from trusting that Jesus is there with us and in us. Jesus is our peace.
How is all this possible? The way in which Jesus passes on his legacy to you is through the Holy Spirit. He has sent the Holy Spirit (the paraclete) to live in your heart: ‘The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you’ (v.26, MSG).
The Greek word for the Holy Spirit, parakletos, literally means ‘one called alongside’. It has a multifaceted meaning – counsellor, advocate, comforter, encourager, helper, someone to stand by you, he who is to befriend you. For example, a mother is a paraclete for her child. She takes away the anguish of loneliness. She brings presence, security, peace and communion.
The Holy Spirit now lives in us to give us new strength and new love – so that we, the church, can continue the mission of Jesus to the world.
Jesus had thought it through very carefully and had made a great succession plan!
Prayer
Lord, thank you that you give me the Holy Spirit to live in me and to be with me forever. Thank you that you give me your peace and you promise to answer my prayers.
1 Samuel 15:12
12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, ‘Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honour and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.’
Commentary
Honour the Lord to the end
Saul started off very well. God had given him great success. In the passage for today, we can learn from Saul’s good example in the early days of his leadership. He headhunted good, ‘brave’ people (14:52) and mobilised them.
However, he did not finish well due to disobedience and arrogance. Partial obedience is still disobedience. Not only did he disobey God but he ‘set up a victory monument in his own honor’ (15:12, MSG). How different this is from Jesus who, as we see in today’s passage, had only one aim in life – to bring glory to his Father (John 14:13).
Samuel tells Saul, ‘When you started out in this, you were nothing – and you knew it. Then God put you at the head of Israel – made you king over Israel... why did you not obey God?... He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production… Getting self-important around God is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to God’s command, he says No to your kingship’ (1 Samuel 15:17–23, MSG).
Power is so dangerous. It has a strong tendency to corrupt. Success can so easily lead to pride and arrogance. That in turn can lead to idolatry. Keep honouring the Lord.
Prayer
Lord, help me to follow the obedience and humility of Jesus. May the Spirit of truth lead and guide me and give me your peace.
Pippa adds
John 14:1–3 says:
Jesus said, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.’
When I hear these words, which are often read at funerals, I can feel the power of them reaching into the depth of grief and bringing comfort and hope.
Thought for the Day
Integrity does not mean being perfect. It means being honest, real and authentic (it is the opposite of hypocrisy).
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References
Henry Cloud, Integrity (HarperBusiness, 2009)
Jim Collins, How the Mighty Fall (Random House Business, 2009).
The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel (commentary formerly known as Bible in One Year) ©Alpha International 2009. All Rights Reserved.
Compilation of daily Bible readings © Hodder & Stoughton Limited 1988. Published by Hodder & Stoughton Limited as the Bible in One Year.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
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