More Precious Than Life
In J.R.R. Tolkien's works the Hobbit and the The Lord of the Rings trilogy, there is a fictional character known as Gollum who refers to a certain ring as "my precious" or simply "precious". The ring has extended his life far beyond natural limits. In the book, The Hobbit, he loses the ring and spends the rest of his life pursuing it. Gollum had come to love the ring, it seemed more than life itself. Is there anything which is more precious to you than life itself? The life of your wife or husband? the lives of your children? An ideal or belief for which you would gladly give your life? Your immortal soul? In our text this morning, there is something which is more precious to the apostle Paul than life itself. It is finishing his course and the ministry which he had received from the Lord Jesus - faithfulness. The words read here were spoken by Paul to the elders of the Lord's church at Ephesus. Paul spent almost three years there teaching and building up the church. He was so successful in his work that, as Luke records, "all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks" (Acts 19:10). Now, on his way back home from his third missionary journey, he stopped by the seaport of Miletus, some 20 miles south of Ephesus, and sends for the elders of the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:17). While I realize that Paul spoke only to the eldership from Ephesus, I believe the message he communicated to them in these verses is one for us today. Not only does Paul tell us that faithfulness is more precious than life itself, but he also identifies some of the marks of such faithfulness.