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Enduring to the End

© Lee Brown

One of the most difficult things in my life is watching water boil. This sounds like such a silly thing. Yet take that concept one step further; watch your life boil. My parents always tried to teach me patience. Unfortunately I was not the grand student I should have been. Now, as a mother myself, I find that patience and endurance sometime elude me. I still cannot stand and watch the water boil.

This problem does not bode well for me in the eternal scheme of things. This life is nothing more than a test of what we can hope to accomplish in the next life. And I believe there is a next life. What would be the point of living and working hard to become a good person if there were no reward when this life came to an end? Think of the early pioneers. What if they had not endured the hardships of their westward migration?

I'll use a scenario a little closer to current times and events. Sometimes the need to endure comes when facing a physical challenge. Anyone afflicted with a serious illness or with the infirmities of age hopes to be able to endure to the end of such trials. Most often, intense physical challenges are accompanied by spiritual challenges as well.

I believe the Lord's ultimate concern is for the salvation and exaltation of each individual soul. What if the Apostle Paul's conversion had not been enduring? He never would have testified as he did at the end of his ministry: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."

Part of the process of reaching into the eternities comes when we must deal with the experience called death. This life is hollow without a belief in and an understanding of immortality. Said Paul, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

Hope and endurance are the only things that can keep us looking toward tomorrow. If it were not for hope, many a wish would never come true. If it were not for endurance, many an obstacle would not be overcome. I firmly believe that we are given obstacles to build character. I also believe we are given discouragement to help us achieve the greater outcome.

I once had a very obstinate boss that I dreaded working for. He was chauvinistic, egotistical, and pompous. Fortunately, my loving, supportive husband gave me some very good advice on a particularly difficult day when I told him I was going to quit. He wrote me the following message on a 3 x 5 card that I have carried with me every since. It reads:

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