Toward Completion

Scripture verses that caught my attention today: 2 Corinthians 8:10-11 And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something— 11 now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.

Observation: It’s appropriate for well-placed eagerness to be matched with completion.

Application: The number of unfinished projects in my world is, to put it in a Biblical term, legion; there are probably too many to count. On my desk at church are folders upon folders of projects that are in various states of progress. At home I merely need to look in almost any room in the house--or in any direction around the farm—to see myriads of things that could or should be done or finished.

It’s not that I necessarily like it this way—I don’t. But also, once the list gets about so long, a person sort of learns to do what one can in the time available and let the rest go until either more discretionary time is available (not likely) or something moves it higher up the priority list. Yet it’s also true that, sometimes, things that are important to me just slip through the cracks. They blend in with all the other things yet undone and disappear into form of abyss, never to be seen again until perhaps it’s too late. And in those cases there is more than just the feeling of being overwhelmed—there is the feeling of genuine regret the comes with the knowledge that it didn’t have to be that way.

Sometimes avoiding such unfortunate circumstances involves a little planning. That’s what Paul offers to the Corinthians. Their interest in helping those less fortunate was noble and appropriate, but to accomplish that goal they would need to save bits and pieces of it starting now and not stopping until the day of the collection. Otherwise they would be caught empty-handed—and in an embarrassing way.

Prayer: Lord, help us to faithfully and regularly do the little things on a daily or weekly basis that enable us to complete those things that are important to your world and to our own physical, emotional, and spiritual health. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: 1 Samuel 3-5, Psalm 77, and 2 Corinthians 8)