"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

                                                                                      2 Timothy 4:7 NIV

Paul here is writing a letter to his brother in ministry, Timothy, letting him know that he was coming to the end of his life.  Paul was in prison and realized he would probably be executed in a short matter of time, so he decided to write a letter to Timothy to encourage him.  In this letter, Paul made the statement, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  Paul was explaining that at the end of the fight, at the end of the race, he has kept his faith in Jesus Christ.  We are called by God as Christians to fight a good fight, to finish the race...to keep the faith.  In our lives we are going to come across difficult times.  Just like a boxer, getting tired in the middle of the fight, may want to give up, but he doesn't.  Just like a marathon runner, getting tired in the middle of the race, may want to just quit, but he doesn't.  Just like these, we will come across times in our Christian walk that we want to give up and quit because it is so hard, but we must press on so that at the end of our lives we can make this statement, just as Paul made it..."I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."