Finish Well? Nah...

Among Christians, you may hear someone way, "I am hoping to finish well." I suppose that since I turned 40 this year, I've been thinking about this statement. I think it's a bit premature for me to be thinking about it but it's in my head regardless. Actually, since we really don't know how many days are in front of us, perhaps all Christians should be thinking about it. The statement in my opinion leaves me with a couple of implications I don't agree with though. One is that to me it implies that the person saying it has been doing well all along. I'm personally not going to make that implication, even if it were true. Also, the implication in my head is that of someone gracefully coasting towards the finish line. Now it is often said that this life isn't a sprint, but in saying that, it is still a "race" and runners shouldn't be coasting to the finish. That's the vision in my head. A runner walking towards the finish line, or perhaps someone slowly riding off into the sunset. Although the statement is meritorious I don't like the implication. Almost like I'm providing an adequate effort as opposed to an "all in/all out" effort. Running like there's no tomorrow is probably a better cliche in my book.

So how do you want to finish? Maybe one of the following would do for me:

Finish Strong!

Finish like I just got started!

Finish? My eternal perspective keeps me from thinking about that. There's still plenty to do!

The thought in my head now is that I talk a good game...better stop posting and get at it!