We are God’s artisans – painting a picture with our lives.
In Ephesians 2.10 God says that “we are His workmanship.” The Greek word Paul uses, “poiema,” is the word from which we get “poem.” We are therefore His work of art in the making (“poem-making”) – we are His workmanship – a work of art, a poem, an attractive picture, a well-written life, - all to be seen and read.
As a work of God, we stand in stark contrast to our world. While our culture has lost its bedrock of truth, as Christians we live a life anchored in the living Word. We are led by the Spirit – not by the subjectivity of the media and secular humanism. We live as witnesses to the living Christ indwelling us – in our aging season of life.
We are not caught up in the negative rhetoric. We do not become cynical. The narcissism and time consumption of the media does not define our lives. We live in stark contrast to the humanism that swirls around us. To the contrary, we are writing a poem, painting a picture, or living a letter written on our hearts to be seen, admired, and read by everyone. Our most pressing passion is to see His kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.
That, my friends, is the purpose of the work of God in our aging years. If God has given us children, we want to paint, write, and live that kind of life for our adult kids and grandkids. As we live in a congregation or a community, our greatest joy is living for Jesus, encouraging each other, setting a standard for generations following us. We intentionally choose to offer His light to a lost world. Our greatest pleasure comes in radiating His presence through our lives – at the grocery store or to our neighbors in the front yard.
For Christians as we age, I cannot think of a greater purpose and mission for life. When we are gone and our families and friends recall our lives, my hope and prayer is that they will recall our mission, and they continue to live that way themselves. If our lives are lived to that end, we will have finished well.
This, my friends, is the mission of Finishing Well Ministries.
“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1.21).
Hal
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