Victory

A couple of weeks ago I went to the funeral of a friend.  Arriving about 40 minutes early I walked into an already packed church.  The church is one of the largest in our area.  Looking around the crowd I saw many I knew and many of whom I knew.  All were prominent either in the Christian or business community in most cases both.  I was going to say local but the people and the man whose life they were there to celebrate impacted far more than the local community.

As I surveyed the crowd thinking of my friend’s obvious impact, a friend sitting in an adjacent pew leaned over and said, “This is the result of finishing well.”  He was right and I thought immediately of 2 Timothy 4:7 – 8.  Then I turned the program over and saw:

It was an appropriate tribute to Clark Millspaugh.  During the service I was both reminded of the reach of a life given over to Christ and challenged to do the same.  I was in an auditorium with hundreds of people essentially cheering a man across the finish line.  It was impactful in ways that I cannot fully express.  It was the result of a life given fully to following Christ and finishing well that race.

I hope to do the same.