Finishing well

The march of time put a wonderful Christian lady to the test and she emerged triumphant.

It was around 1978 that I last saw Dr Helen Roseveare in action. She had been a missionary in the Congo. She had been captured by soldiers while there and had suffered outrageous treatment at their hands.

Yet there she was, the appointed speaker at a special Christian Union evening in Cambridge to encourage the students to consider missionary service. Her total dedication came across like a clear shining light. Whatever she had endured, she remained convinced that the great mission field of the world needed more people to go and reach out to the lost.

She spoke with love, power and passion. For all she knew, some she was persuading to go abroad might suffer the way she did, but it was all worth it because of Jesus' sacrifice for us.

Until a couple of weeks ago, I had not seen her again. Some kind friends from my new church offered to take me up to the Keswick Convention to hear her once more. She is now in her mid-eighties. It was a remarkable experience. Despite the passage of some 33 years, her enthusiasm for recruiting missionaries was undiminished. The audience, of mixed ages, took her into their hearts immediately. Keswick staff were surprised by the numbers coming forward to dedicate their lives wholly to God's service in response to her message. An appeal went out for more pastors and counsellors to help.

There is something very moving about a Christian worker still fighting the good fight in the eventide of life. I see Helen Roseveare as a role model. My long career in the ministry may not have been crowned with obvious success, and I have often felt discouraged. But it remains my ambition to keep going and, God helping me, simply to finish well.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:7-8).