One of my favorite choral anthems is a piece called “Ain’t Got Time to Die.” I heard it first in Dallas in about 1981, and it has echoed in my soul ever since. A spiritual, it has a haunting and catchy tune, but the words are so stirring to me. The piece reminds me—US—of the reality that life must be rooted in Jesus, and that I—WE—should live our lives in service to the Lord.
There are times when I get tired, and as the years mount up, I find I get fatigued more often and more easily. But when I am worn down by the worries of life, the exhaustion that comes from a long hard day, or the sense that a prolonged pandemic is wearing me—US—down, I can listen to this piece, and my heart swells with energy, enthusiasm, and encouragement.
Paul knew the importance of “pressing on.” Writing from Rome where he was a prisoner, having languished in jail in Israel for a couple of years, and barely surviving storms at sea and a shipwreck, it would have been easy for Paul to just hang it up. He had started churches, led so many people to Christ, and transformed a large part of the known world. Maybe he could coast from there.
But no. Paul did not look over his shoulder at the past, nor did he did not gaze longingly at an imaginary trophy shelf. He pressed on. He kept going, kept serving, kept making a difference for Jesus. May we do the same!