Unfinished Business
Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him: “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed.”
Josh. 13:1
Joshua was an elderly man, as the first part of this verse indicates. But the work of conquering the land of Canaan was not yet complete. There was still more territory to be claimed by Israel, other battles to be fought and won. The words of the Lord are both a statement of fact and a challenge to those who would follow after.
Each of us is called to serve our own generation by the will of God, as David was (Acts 13:36). And all anyone can do is his best, by the grace of God. But until the Lord returns we will each die with a sense of leaving unfinished business behind. The Apostle Paul reflects that outlook in Second Timothy chapter 4. He is conscious that the end is near for him, and he has finished his part of the task (vs. 6-8). But he challenges Timothy to carry on (vs. 1-5).
In a practical sense, there is quite a difference between an inheritance and a possession. An inheritance can be simply a pledge for the future that is not yet enjoyed (Josh. 13:6-7). An inheritance received is a possession possessed (Josh. 13:8). Israel often failed to do the latter. Though they were given the land as a perpetual inheritance by the Lord, they failed to completely possess their possessions (cf. Josh. 18:3).
As Christians, we have no earthly territory guaranteed to us. Instead, we have an eternal inheritance reserved for us in heaven (I Pet. 1:3-4). But not all of our blessings are heavenly. Many are available to us now, including abundant life and fruitfulness in Christ. It is up to us to claim them, and possess our possessions, by faith. In the words of Paul:
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Phil. 3:12-14
A race course is a kind of one-way street. All the runners, whatever their skill, move forward toward the finish line. And that is where their mental focus must be. Perhaps a runner has had a bad start, or a slip along the way. But now is not the time to dwell on that. The goal is the thing! In the spiritual realm, our own memories of past failures may cause us to fix our attention on the past. But apart from the confession of our sin to restore our fellowship with the Lord, we must leave the past in the past, and “press on.” There is unfinished business yet to be cared for.