I want to live a “well done” life. Jesus taught if we spent our lives using the talents and mission He gave to us for Him, when we face Him in Heaven He will say, “Well done good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). It is to this we should aspire. It is for those words we should spend our lives. I don’t want to live my life for Jesus in a casual or half-hearted way.
Along with the teaching of having our lives found to be good and faithful, Jesus also gave the warning many would come to Him and He wouldn’t recognize them (Matthew 7:22-23). Despite their protests and proclamations of what they had done on His behalf, He will turn them away. They are those who did not hold fast to Christ. They wavered in their devotion.
I recently heard someone say, “No one remembers how you began, but everyone remembers how you finished.” I haven’t eaten meat in years, but when I was younger and ordered steak in a restaurant, I would always order it well done. I used to jokingly tell the waiter to cook it too long, take it out, stomp on it a couple of times, then cook it some more. I wanted to make sure the meat was done, nothing left uncooked. It’s how we should live our lives. We should leave nothing undone. When our time comes to die, we need to know our mission is complete. We need to know it was well done.
The apostle Paul, when his life was coming to a close, proclaimed he had finished the race and fought the good fight (2 Timothy 4:6-8). As Jesus hung on the cross, He exclaimed, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Finished. Complete. Well Done. This is the example set for us. There is no other way to live a life devoted to Christ. As I’ve often stated, we are either all in or not in at all. We are not called to live a somewhat devoted life. Jesus didn’t die for us so we could serve Him with a lukewarm commitment. He gave everything for you and for me. Such love demands a response in kind.
Are you living your life in a way Jesus would call well done? A life well done is not one where we never sin or mess up. We will fall, and we will fail. But God has given us the power and the tools to overcome any obstacle, to get back up against any odds, and to move forward in victory. The game is rigged. We’ve already won. He simply wants us to walk as victors throughout this life and bring glory to Him along the way.
Jesus held nothing back in His sacrifice and love for us. We should hold nothing back when it comes to obeying and serving Him. A life lived in total devotion and obedience to God will be a life that ends well done. This is my aspiration, and if you love Him, it will be yours as well. Are you living a “well done” life?