It is tempting to look for numbers and success stories as we seek encouragement in our work for the Lord, but the Apostle Paul gives us a different reason to keep going.
‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’ 2 Timothy 4:7
According to the Times1, the middle of April is peak running season in the UK. Countless joggers hit pavements and parks in the warmer weather. Some square up to the ‘couch to 5K’ challenge, while others make the finishing touches in preparation for their marathons.
This Lycra clad army of fitness enthusiasts put in the effort to run their races – yet some of them, despite their sweaty preparations, I imagine will not finish.
2 Timothy 4:7 is a well-known verse. The Apostle Paul writes what are thought to be some of his final words to his dear friend and apprentice Timothy. As Paul looks back on his life, he essentially declares ‘mission accomplished’, and he now looks forward to the victor’s crown (4:8). Yet we know from elsewhere in the New Testament (as well as from within 2 Timothy) that his race has not been an easy one. In fact, in verse 7 Paul likens his race to a boxing match. Paul has been in a fight: a fight for the gospel, a fight for Christlike character, a fight against all the schemes of the evil one, a fight for souls and no doubt a fight against his own sinful nature.
The men and women who serve cross culturally as Crosslinks mission and project partners are also in a fight as they run their races. Whether it’s the Lord empowering Graeme Innes to preach 36 times in 36 days and see 10 non-Christians come to Christ, or Janet who has spent the past 14 years of ‘retirement’ from being a teacher in southeast London to devotedly teaching English and sharing Jesus with Thai students. Or Alun and Debbie Burt’s steadfast commitment to the township communities in South Africa whose lived reality is a daily struggle of gang violence and drug addiction. These are just to highlight four ‘fights’ and four races happening right now. Our mission partners, wherever they serve, are fighting and running as they seek to take ‘God’s word to God’s world’.
Yet what is true for Crosslinks mission partners and project partners is the same for all disciples of Christ. Whatever the nature of our ministry, just ‘staying in the fight’ and ‘putting one foot in front of the other’ is sometimes the best that any of us can do. To remain trusting and leaning on Christ, to simply keep holding on to him, requires endurance.
The sports app Strava has unleashed a virtual competitiveness amongst runners with times, distances and stats shared and compared seemingly universally. It’s tempting for churches, parachurch ministries, and mission organisations to do something similar. To publish numbers and trumpet good news stories of growth and victory. And by God’s grace, Crosslinks has many we could share – alongside a fair share of disappointments, setbacks and struggles.
But encouraging stats and stories only get you so far. And they’re not where Paul goes. 2 Timothy 4:7 is the encouragement we need to simply remain in the fight and to put one foot in front of the other when it would be easy to give up in the marathon of the Christian life.
So, will you pray for these men and women and their ministries? We commend to you our prayer diary – a few sentences each day that give not only a window into God’s work all over the world but is a spiritual discipline that nourishes our souls – and People & Places on our website which gives more detail.
I’m not sure how many runners across the UK will finish their races this summer, but pray for us and for our partners that we will finish ours.
Rupert Shelley, Director of Mission Partnerships
- The Times, 15 April 2025, ‘How to run a marathon – without injury’, Peta Bee ↩︎
