I grew up in the church. Mama said I pitched a fit when she left me in the nursery. In church I met many fine teachers and youth leaders. I met the girl who would become my wife, and other boys and girls who became good friends. I met many dedicated pastors. But I was 27, and already ordained a pastor, before I met Jesus. I encountered the living Christ on my knees, empty, drained and helpless – and He turned me around, turned me on, and made me aware that He is alive and able to transform the lives of those who surrender to Him.
That life-changing encounter led me to enlist in the army of the Lord. Someone told me that in the Lord’s army, the wounded serve best. I was a wounded disciple so I signed on to live as a servant of Jesus. General Jesus said to me, “Enlist with me and I will live in you and give you the strength to serve me.” I enlisted and never looked back.
As I began to walk with Jesus, He did a new work of grace in me. I began to emerge from bondage to a performance-driven life. Jesus delivered me from bondage to guilt and fear. He said, “Walter, you don’t have to keeping trying so hard to impress me; I love you just like you are. Relax and enjoy being my man. Allow me to love people into the Kingdom through you.”
I woke up in a new life. My chains were gone; I rose, went forth and began following Jesus into new joy.
Jesus helped me embrace His purpose for my life. As I studied the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit inspired me to see that Jesus could change me just like He changed Peter, Paul and Mary. I felt the hand of Jesus on my life just like Paul had once felt it. When Paul surrendered to Jesus, he turned from a burning desire to destroy the Christian movement and embraced a burning desire to serve Jesus. Paul identified himself as a servant of Jesus, so I did that too, adding the letters “sjc” to my name to remind me of my identity.
Billy Graham dreamed of being a star baseball player. He saw himself standing at the plate, bat in hand, hitting a grand slam home run. Then Jesus took hold of him and he found himself in one stadium after another, with a Bible instead of a bat in his hand. Near the end of his life, Graham wrote about this in his book, Nearing Home. Writing about how baseball players want to get “home,” Graham said he was praying for grace and guidance to finish strong as he was getting nearer to his home in heaven.
Like Graham I am nearing home also, and yes, praying for strength to finish strong. As a young man I was inspired by Warner Sallman’s painting of “Christ Our Pilot.” In it there is a young man whose hands are holding the helm, the steering wheel of a ship at sea. Behind the man stands a taller man, Jesus, who is pointing the way forward with one hand while his other hand rests on the shoulder of the young man. For more than seven decades I have sought to hold on to Christ’s plan for my life and to feel his strong hand upon my shoulder, guiding me home. That remains my desire in my ninety-second year.
The great key to finishing well is to surrender to Jesus every day – and stay surrendered until the chariot arrives to take us home. That is no small task. But if we continue to obey Jesus by loving God and loving each other, He will keep His promise to stay with us and never forsake us. He will not fail to keep His loving, strengthening hand upon our shoulder until our ship docks at that distant shore.
Our resolve is strengthened by the examples of others who kept the faith and finished strong. I have long been inspired by the example of a young preacher who stayed surrendered to Jesus despite the devastating odds against him. This young man surrendered to Jesus and began serving him in a small English village. His popularity grew as people from miles around came to hear him preach.
Then one day a young woman came forward, claiming that the young preacher had tried to force himself upon her sexually. Her word spread like wildfire. People believed her – but her claim was a lie. The young preacher struggled with her charge and was filled with bitterness. But, like Joseph in the Book of Genesis, the preacher overcame his bitter spirit. With the help of Jesus, he forgave the woman for her lies but felt his life was over, that he would never again be used of God to help others.
He was wrong, however, for though Oswald Chambers struggled with bitterness, he finished strong – and God has for many years blessed millions of believers with Chambers’ famous book, My Utmost for His Highest. All because the young preacher learned to surrender to Jesus.
Whatever your age, you would be wise to surrender to Jesus so you can finish strong. Surrender does not save you from struggling with the common problems that attend the ending of life here, but it will ensure that you will not struggle alone. You will feel His hand upon your shoulder until your journey ends. And when you arrive in the place He has prepared for you, you will be filled with joy as He welcomes you home with open arms!