Perseverance

Christ’s dying words: “It’s done.” The last thing someone says tends to carry added significance. Those words teach what it means to do God’s will: faithfulness to the end—perseverance. Practical living calls for carry-through because most things have little use if they are not finished.

That format holds true in social relations as well. How we conduct ourselves with each other is as relevant toward the end as it is at any time earlier. The way things were does not determine the way things are. Friendship with God is not an average of faithfulness figured over a lifetime; it’s a matter of how things are at the moment—especially at the moment of the end.

Success comes from completing the Father’s assignments. In spiritual matters, we do not get paid by the hour; we get paid for finishing the job. Reward comes from faithfulness to the end—receiving the crown of life. These emblems move us to redouble our love and service, replicating in ourselves his example when he could say, “It’s done.”