A Life Well Lived: Let's Run In Such A Way That We Get The Prize At The End
Dr. Roberto Miranda
SUMMARY: The Man with the Golden Helmet is a famous painting by Rembrandt that depicts an old soldier with a melancholic expression. This man has lived well and has not wasted his vitality on destructive pleasures or dishonest acts. Similarly, the apostle Paul was always on guard against himself and aimed to finish his ministry with honor. To achieve this, he embraced disciplines such as prayer, fasting, self-examination, and renouncing personal glory. Paul's farewell address to the elders of the church at Ephesus and his words to his spiritual son Timothy encourage running the ministerial career with legitimacy and finishing it with honor. The Christian life and service are filled with spiritual traps, and a glorious and worthy end is only attained through moral decisions made each day and a continually renewed vow of fidelity. Principles like honesty, humility, mercy, dependence on God's power, and a continuous search for fresh anointing will keep us spiritually vigorous and carry us from victory to victory in our Christian walk.
' The Man with the Golden Helmet ' is one of the most famous and loved paintings by Rembrandt. From a very young age, I have admired this masterpiece of the extraordinary Dutch painter. This painting shows us an old soldier, with a noble and melancholic face, dressed in his military uniform, with a beautiful golden helmet. In the painting, the old military man looks steadily at an indefinite point, pensive, with a melancholy expression in his eyes. Despite the years, the face still reflects the firmness and manliness of youth; perhaps also the soft sadness that comes from having seen and lived too much. The old soldier's jaw and mouth, the tilt of his head, project vigor and courage. Old age does not seem to have reduced the strength and virility of youth at all.
It is evident that this man has lived well. It has retained its strength. He has not wasted his manhood or vitality on destructive pleasures or dishonest acts. Evidently, the soldiers he led in the war were blessed to be covered by the leadership of an exceptional man, who always cared for their well-being, and who never put his life at risk unnecessarily. For this man, the prize of a life well lived turns out to be, precisely, an old age full of vitality and inner peace.
It is evident that this man has lived well. It has retained its strength. He has not wasted his manhood or vitality on destructive pleasures or dishonest acts. Evidently, the soldiers he led in the war were blessed to be covered by the leadership of an exceptional man, who always cared for their well-being, and who never put his life at risk unnecessarily. For this man, the prize of a life well lived turns out to be, precisely, an old age full of vitality and inner peace.
