2 Timothy 4:6-7 (ESV)
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of
my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith.
In two short verses Paul uses five different metaphors for faithfulness. He
uses the metaphor of a drink offering being poured out to God or to the gods, the
time of departure on a journey, fighting a battle, finishing a race, and
finally keeping the faith. The point, however, is not Paul’s faithfulness, but the
faithfulness of God. Verse eight goes on say that he has a “crown of righteousness”
waiting for him. The crown is not there because he has been faithful, but for “all
who have loved his appearance.” Paul’s faithfulness was not because he was such
a disciplined individual. His faithfulness was because he had his eyes on
something higher. He lived and served in anticipation of Jesus’s return and
kingdom.
Can we say with Paul that we are being poured out as a drink offering unto
God, or are we resting in our safe little goblets getting stale? What will be
our passionate concern when the time of our departure has come? The difference between
being poured out and growing stale is not how great the wine is. It is not in
how great, how gifted, how faithful, or how committed we are. The difference is
in what drives us. Do we look with anticipation for the Kingdom, or do we seek our
greatest comfort and fulfillment here and now? Jesus taught us to prayer, “Your
kingdom come.” Do we truly love his appearing, or do we wish he would wait a while
longer? Finishing well depends on what we truly love.
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