.....finish

But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God Acts 20:24

The believers in Ephesus gave up their costly books for Christ. Today we meet the man who brought them the gospel, standing on a beach not far from their city, ready to give up far more.

Paul was on his way to Jerusalem, and he knew what was waiting for him there. The Holy Spirit had warned him in city after city that chains and afflictions lay ahead. So he called the elders of Ephesus to meet him at Miletus. He reminded them of the years he had spent among them, teaching from house to house with tears. Then he told them they would never see his face again.

You might ask, "Why would he walk straight into trouble when he could have stayed where he was loved and safe?" Because Paul had settled a question long before that day. His life was no longer his own. He did not count it dear, not because it had no value, but because something was worth more: finishing the course Jesus had given him, and telling the world about the grace of God.

Where does that kind of surrender come from? Ellen White points us to its source: "The Son of God gave all—life and love and suffering—for our redemption. And can it be that we, the unworthy objects of so great love, will withhold our hearts from Him?" Steps to Christ, p. 45. Paul's courage was not stubbornness. It was the answer of a heart that had seen how much Christ gave for him.

Notice the words "with joy." Paul did not want merely to survive to the end. He wanted to finish gladly. That is what grace does in a surrendered life. It does not remove the hardship, but it changes the heart that walks through it, until even chains cannot steal its joy.

The Ephesians teach us to give up what holds our hearts. Paul teaches us that the final gift is ourselves, and that a life given fully to Christ is never lost, because it finishes its course in His hands.