2 Timothy Chapter 4

6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  2 Timothy 4

As I sit to write this, the loss of my grandmother is very fresh. She was the first person in my family, who passed away in the faith. As I reflected on her life, Paul’s words, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith, apply to her life as well. After her passing, the family learned of the countless people of all ages my grandmother poured her life into. She opened her home to the homeless, started a garden ministry in an elementary school, was the head deaconess for many years, she helped addicts get into treatment, and there was much, much, more. 

My grandmother’s life is an inspiration to me, I also want to finish well and keep the faith. However, the true inspiration is a life transformed by Christ. My grandmother (like all of us) was a very flawed person. There were many struggles throughout the years, especially when it came to familial relationships. It was the Holy Spirit’s work within her that enabled all the good works and the mending of relations before her passing.

This verse is a reminder to me that by keeping the faith, God will continue to transform the very flawed person I am, to become more and more like Him, and finish the race well. In a paraphrase of Philippians 1:6, I can be confident that God will continue His good work in me until the day for my departure.