Day 1069 · Year 3 · The Great Tradition
Polycarp on eighty-six years of service
A old bishop refused to deny Christ at the end of his life.
Today's passage
2 Timothy 4:7-8
7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8From now on there is laid up 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 to all who crave His appearing.
Berean Standard Bible · public domain
Reflection
Polycarp, near the end of his life, was told to recant or die. His reply, preserved by the early church: 'Eighty-six years I have served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?' Most of us are not asked to die for our faith. Most of us are asked to keep showing up — for decades — through quiet seasons, dry seasons, painful seasons. Polycarp's witness is not just at the end. It is in the eighty-six years before.
From the great tradition · paraphrased
Polycarp of Smyrna · Apostolic Fathers · 2nd c. · Asia Minor
Polycarp lived a long quiet life of faithfulness, and only at the very end was that faithfulness publicly tested — a reminder that the long obedience is itself the testimony, regardless of whether the climax ever comes.
Paraphrase only. Scripture, not any teacher, is the authority.
Think it through
- What three things does Paul say in verse 7 at the end of his life?
- What does Polycarp's life add to Paul's words?
- What does 'fighting the good fight' look like in your stage of life?
A prayer to pray
Thank God for the years he has already kept you. Ask him for the grace to keep showing up in the years he gives you next.