The young minister rises, having just been ordained. He looks around at those who laid their hands on him during that sacred and solemn ordination service. His future is bright. He is beaming with zeal, energized for service, full of dreams, and has a vision of doing great things for God.

But then, without warning, the unexpected happens. In a blink of an eye, forty years have passed. His zeal is largely zeroed out, his energy fades with each sunset, and his dreams are mostly, still dreams. As for his grandiose vision, it has faded with his eyesight. If only he had known at twenty, what he now knows at sixty. Why didn’t someone warn him?

Visions and dreams are good, but they must be anchored in the Word of God and empowered by the Spirit of God. Youthful zeal and energy will fade with age, but spiritual energy doesn’t because it comes from a close relationship with the eternal Christ and a constant consumption of His energizing Words—the Bible.

Although many are called, not all end well. The key to ending well is clarity about one’s calling. What has God called us to do and be? If we fail to correctly understand the call, we open the door to misfortune and a miserable ending. Life is all about What God Wants.

Although we have movies that tell us What Women Want and What Men Want, the Bible clearly states what God wants. God has called us to be faithful, fruitful, and focused. Above all else, He desires faithfulness, not just to Him, but to our spouses, our families, the Scriptures, and His church. If we make anything else our top priority, sooner or later, we will fail to be faithful. If we fail to be faithful to our spouses, we lose our ministry. If we fail to be faithful to our children, we lose our children. If we fail to be faithful to the Scriptures, we lose God’s blessings and the joy of the Lord.

A few months ago in my study of the Parable of the Talents, I realized that Jesus emphasizes faithfulness over fruitfulness. Although the story is about one servant who fails to invest his talents, the main focus is the faithfulness of the other two servants. Jesus didn’t compliment them for putting their talents to work and doubling them. Instead, He commented on their faithfulness. He said, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21). Faithfulness, not fruitfulness is the main thing, but fruitfulness is important.

Unfortunately, churches and ministers are not isolated from the ways and means of the world. The secular world idolizes results. A sports coach or manager can lead his team to the ultimate victory one year and be fired the next for underperforming. Companies are not satisfied with making a profit, they must make more profits each year.

The church, including ministers, often buys into the world’s standard of success, which is numbers. Although numbers are important in ministry because they represent people, numbers must not become the god we worship. We honor God most when we prioritize that which He prioritizes, which is faithfulness. We must not violate the Scriptures to gain numbers on the roll or more money in the plate. We must not trade biblical conversions for superficial confessions for the sake of impressive numbers and personal accolades. Furthermore, we can’t control the results of our evangelism, but we can control our faithfulness to evangelize. We alone are responsible for our faithfulness to God and those whom God has placed in our care. We are pastors—shepherds–not CEOs.

When it comes to being faithful in fruit-bearing, the main fruit is not the bottom line, but the Christlikeness that we radiate. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV).

A life of faithfulness and fruitfulness is the direct result of a focused life. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV).

The word “looking” comes from the Greek word ἀφοράω, which means fixing our eyes on one thing—Jesus. If we are faithful in focusing on Jesus, we will be faithful in what He wants from us. Consequently, when our health fails us, ministry opportunities abandon us, or death comes looking for us, we will not be discouraged, disillusioned, or disheartened if we have been faithful, for a well-lived life is a life that ends well.

The apostle Paul, the greatest church planter and missionary the world has ever known, did not focus on his accomplishments or convert numbers when death came knocking. He focused on the one thing that Jesus wants most, faithfulness. “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth 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 also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-7).

If we have been faithful to God and His calling, we can rejoice over a life well lived and expect to hear the words, Well done, good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21 ESV).

About the Author: Eddie Fleming is in his 32nd year as pastor of Concord General Baptist Church near Manitou, Kentucky. He is a graduate of Welch College. He and his wife, Laura, have two children, Elizabeth and Evan. He is a writer for Stinson Press and the author of the book “When Truth Knocks.” His website is eddiedfleming.com