Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, beause Christ Jesus has made me his own.

  - Philippians 3.12

The Lord has power to grant me that I may continue in the future to spend my very self for the sake of your souls.

  - Patrick, Confession (British, 5th century)

Like Paul, Patrick was writing near the end of his life. He had been working faithfully for many years to evangelize the Irish and organize churches throughout his adopted land. Paul was sitting in a Roman prison as he wrote to the church in Philippi. Both men had accumulated a track record of accomplishment that, for many, would have been enough.

But "enough" was not in the vocabulary of either of these men when it came to knowing the Lord and serving Him. Paul was still seeking to obtain "the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (v. 14). He was resolved to know Jesus better and to love Him more every day. Patrick believed that Christ would continue to give him power to to do his work, spending himself for the Irish and the Gospel.

Neither man seems to have noticed that he had reached the age of "retirement."

What do we expect as we grow older? Most people are looking forward to retirement, when they don't have to work any longer and can spend their days doing what they want to do rather than what they have to do in order to say alive. In this stricken economy we've heard a lot of talk about social security, 401(k)s, inflation, and falling property values because these are on the minds of most people. Their expectations for the future involve retirement, rest, taking it easy, and not having to worry about whether or not they'll have enough to live on for the remainder of their days.

What expectations do you hold out for the future? For Paul, it was knowing Christ and serving Him. For Patrick, it was an expectation of power at work within him which would enable him to do exceeding abundantly more on behalf of the lost and the saved people of Ireland (Eph. 3.20).

This is an important question, because what you expect is what you prepare for. If you expect to grow in Christ and to be used for the progress of His Kingdom, you will prepare each day for just such outcomes. You will learn more, pray more, set aside whatever distracts you from these goals, plan your day accordingly, and get about knowing and serving Christ in all you do.

If, on the other hand, your expectations are for "retirement", then you can't be bothered with the hard work of learning and preparing and gearing up to grow in Christ and to work for His Kingdom to your last breath.

I can imagine it was hard work hanging on that cross, bearing your sins and mine, especially since Jesus knew, at any moment, He could "retire" from that work, step down from that gibbet, and simply go back to His throne and rest. But to His dying breath Jesus endured the cross and despised the shame, looking not at the hard work which had been appointed to Him, but to the glory that was about to be His (Heb. 12.1, 2).

What are your expectations? What are you preparing for this week? This month? Next year?

The only "retirement" any Christian should pursue is that of retiring from whatever gets in the way of our knowing Jesus and serving Him with more of His power every day, here on out.

You will be amazed to see what Christ can do in and through you, for all the remaining days of your life, according to your faith and depending on what you really expect.

Is this what you expect? And are you preparing for it, even now?

T. M. Moore, Principal

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