March 2010
Understanding Manhood: Finishing Well and Strong 
(excerpts from "The Ultimate Men’s Ministry Tool Kit" by Jim Grassi )
Over the course of these past couple of months, we’ve exposed a number of problems and identified several ways men have failed to lead the lives God intended for them. While no man has the power to relive the past, all mankind has the opportunity to follow Christ into the future. No matter what we’ve done—no matter how many false starts we’ve had—God still invites us to finish well. What does finishing well mean? More specifically, what can a person learn from their biblical heroes of faith?
“Finishing well or strong” as reflected in the lives of biblical heroes means that they were walking with God personally at the end of their lives. They (these examined men) were strong in their faith and close to the Lord. Some identify the following men who finished well: Abraham, Job, Joseph, Joshua, Caleb, Samuel, Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel, John, Paul, and Peter. This is where men want to be.
The bottom line in determining how a man will finish centers around getting through the ambushes. To finish strong means that you survived the ambushes. They are: the ambush of another woman, the ambush of money, the ambush of a neglected family.
Success seems to make more demands than it satisfies. Over and over I have heard successful people at the peak of their power say they’d gotten much further along in life than they ever dared hope, only to discover that it still wasn’t quite enough. So one of the key things to ask yourself is, “What would you like to see as your epitaph?” While worldly achievements have their place and a successful life is well-respected, what is it that others see as your legacy and your defining moments?
Let us end this article with a quote from author of “Half Time” Bob Buford about an epitaph: “Saint Augustine said that asking yourself the question of your own legacy—What do I wish to be remembered for?—is the beginning of adulthood. That is what I have done by writing my own epitaph. After all, an epitaph should be something more than a wispy, wishful, self-selected motto. If it’s honest, it says something about who you are at the essence of your personality and your soul.
Read the other articles in this issue:
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