There’s a well-known story about a race between a turtle and a rabbit (a tortoise and a hare). The rabbit was much faster than the turtle, but he failed to take the race seriously. He got distracted along the way and lost his focus. The turtle just kept plodding along, determined to stay focused. As you probably know, the turtle, in his own determined way, just slowly kept moving ahead until he finished the race and won. This story illustrates that steady perseverance wins over an inconsistent effort that’s uncommitted to finishing. In Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT) Paul wrote, “but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, {14} I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

Knowing his time on earth was short, Paul wrote to Timothy, saying, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7 NKJV) Paul called his apostolic journey a “race” and described it as a “good fight.” He knew that keeping faith in Christ was the reason his “fight” had been a good one. Now, awaiting his appointment with the Roman executioner, he was content in knowing the consistent, committed stewardship of his faith was the reason he could be satisfied as he looked forward to meeting Jesus in glory. I’m Dr. Bob. I have learned that consistent commitment is an attribute of immeasurable value. It’s the key to achieving the “perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2). Would you describe your Christian life a demonstration of consistent commitment?