Starting well...finishing well....

Starting well...finishing well...

Not very long ago, I came across a quote that made an impression on me: "We don't get credit for what we begin, but what we finish..." The quote caught my attention because I often struggle with starting projects that I don't or can't finish. At the time, I was feeling bad about this habit of laziness, or lack of focus...and I felt that I shouldn't receive credit for any work done, if I couldn't demonstrate that I had 'finished what I started.' I resolved to be more focused, more disciplined, and even wrote the quote on a piece of paper to keep in my line of sight each day at work.

As I think about this isolated struggle with self-discipline in my work life, I am reminded of something Jesus said while hanging on the cross. The gospel writers record seven famous "Last Words of Christ," one of which was: "It is Finished."

If I sit quietly with this idea, it occurs to me that our lives are unfinished stories, and that the work of our lives is not finished until we take our last breath. Even then, I realize that I will not be the one to ultimately finish the work of my life. When I take my final breath, the deepest and most complete work in me will be finished by Christ. In his letter to the Christian believers at Philippi, the apostle Paul said it this way,

"There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears." Philippians 1:6 (The Message)

While we listen for God this day, let's make room for a God who is at work in us. He has both started the work, and will finish it well. Our place is to stay open and available to him, allowing his work to be completed in us.