Seniorities (noun): The sensation which overcomes an individual, typically a student, when they are in the final stages of an activity and no longer feel like putting in any effort.
I made that definition up, but the term is pretty common. I'm sure we've all seen high school or college seniors in the final month of their academic careers who simply... stop caring. Do you blame them? Once the grades are in the books and the diploma is already in the mail, why kill yourself?
I think many Christians reach a point in their development where senioritis sets in. They have spent years in church, participated in dozens of Bible studies, and completed much of their spiritual checklist. Their "spiritual diploma" is in the mail and all they have to do is wait on Christ's second coming or to one day enter into glory. Why kill yourself doing more?
What if Christ had taken the same approach? What if Christ said, "you know, I've been doing this whole 'savior thing' for many years and I'd like to just kind of cruise into the final stages." Worse yet, what if Christ knew that the "final stages" of his earthly ministry were destined to be fraught with death on the cross, so in the final months he just stopped loving and caring for others? We would be robbed of many of our favorite moments in the gospels, including the feeding of the 4,000, raising of Lazarus, and that's not to speak of all the miraculous events and lessons taught during the events of Holy Week before his arrest. Simply put, Jesus' work would have been left incomplete simply because "he felt like he had already given enough".
It is a sad thing when Christian take on this mentality. It may be that we've given thousands of dollars to the church and now feel like we are owed something in return. It may be that we've spent thousands of hours on church ministry and now feel like our obligation is no longer valid. Whatever form it takes, we must resist the urge to "let up" in our spiritual calling just because of service and generosity we gave in the past.
10 For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints—and by continuing to serve them. 11 Now we desire each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end, 12 so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance. (Hebrews 6:10-12)
Paul warns against these feelings of "laziness" by pointing to the one we are serving. God didn't stop when he got 90% of the way towards saving us. God didn't stop when he parted the waters "most of the way", leaving the Hebrew people to swim the remainder of the Red Sea. Christ didn't stop when he got 99% of the way up the hill to Golgotha before calling it quits. The God we serve is a God of completeness. He goes all the way to reconcile with us and calls us to go all the way in serving his kingdom.
I am reminded of the life of Billy Graham. In the early 1990s, I went to a speaking tour he put on called "The Last Crusade" which was supposed to be his final nationwide evangelism tour. He was getting old and it was time to retire. That was in the 1990s, but he would continue touring for well over the next decade. He never gave up, serving God until the very end. This is the type of servant's heart that Christ calls us to hold. While the standards of man may say "you did enough... just relax" or "you've spent so much effort serving God... he can give you this little bit back", God says, "stay true because your rest and reward is so much bigger than any respite this world can offer."
Stay true, and stay strong. In this way, God will be able to look at all of us one day in glory and say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
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