Ever Leave Some Things Unfinished?

To paraphrase a familiar adage, “the road to failure is paved with good intentions.” Whenever we set lofty goals or start major projects, we’re usually filled with good intentions. We make plans, envision how we’ll carry them out, and imagine the final result. But have you ever started a project, became sidetracked, and somehow never got around to finishing it? 

It might be accurate to say that anyone who’s never started something without finishing it clearly hasn’t attempted to do very much. Whether it’s constructing a birdhouse, creating a painting or sculpture, renovating a house, doing some knitting or crocheting, making household repairs, or writing a book, there are times when the good intentions we had at the outset are forgotten or discarded. Maybe it’s being distracted, discouraged, or simply having determined it wasn’t worth the effort.

 

I’ve had the privilege of writing, co-authoring and editing more than 20 books, but I’ve also started a few that never got finished. Maybe I’ll get back to a couple of them, I keep telling myself, but one or two that started off as ‘good ideas’ turned out to be not good enough.

 

Have you ever driven down a highway and noticed a building that appears only half-finished? Judging from the state of incompletion and the weeds surrounding it, it seems someone either ran out of money, initiative, or both. 

 

Jesus Christ referred to this while talking with His disciples about the cost of following Him. He was explaining the sacrifices that might be necessary – “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be My disciple…” (Luke 14:26). Then He switched to a metaphor:

 

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish’” (Luke 14:29-30).

 

Sadly, there have been many who seemed to have responded to Jesus’ offer of salvation and redemption with great enthusiasm, only to take a detour at some point down the road. That’s a topic for another day.

 

Thankfully, the God we worship and serve has no problem with finishing things. We see this emphasized throughout the Scriptures, starting with the very first chapter: “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good…. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work” (Genesis 1:31-2:2). 

 

When Jesus was completing His three-year ministry, going to the cross to become the once-and-for-all atoning sacrifice for our sins, His last words were, “It is finished” (John 19:30). He wasn’t thinking about his final breath, because three days later He was resurrected from the dead. Jesus was saying the work He had come to do was completed. As Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

Just as the Bible’s first book shows God finishing His work of creation, its final book does so as well. Showing the apostle John in a vision that one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth to replace the first heaven and earth, the Lord instructed him, “‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true…. It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End…’”(Revelation 21:5-6).

 

But there’s another important aspect about God’s unfailing commitment to finishing what He’s started. It pertains to you and me, directly and personally. Writing to encourage believers in ancient Philippi, the apostle Paul made this assertion: “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

 

Once you have responded to the Lord’s loving offer of mercy and grace, so that we won’t receive what we do deserve and will receive what we don’t deserve, it’s like He puts a sign on our backs reading, “Under Construction.” Because what theologians term “justification” – the act of being saved – is just the start of our spiritual journey. For the remainder of our days, we’ll be experiencing “sanctification,” the day-to-day process of being transformed into the image of Christ.

 

There are days, I know, when it doesn’t seem like anything’s happening. It might even feel like for every two steps we take forward, we take 3-4 steps back. But from God’s perspective we’re right on schedule. Like a master painter laboring day after day to create an unforgettable work of art, the Lord’s busily removing all our rough edges and adding polish where needed, “carrying it on to completion.”

 

One of my favorite verses in the Bible fills me with amazement every time I read it. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when [Jesus] appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). In other words, if you’re reading this, the Lord’s promise to you is, “I’m not finished with you yet.”

The Short-Term Benefits of Instant Gratification

One of the advantages of being older – among many – is being able to appreciate how our society has changed over time. Case in point: Instant gratification. Things we once waited long periods of time for are now at our fingertips within minutes, even moments. A lot of them have to do with food.

 

For instance (or instants), coffee. Growing up, my mom would put coffee grounds in the percolator and wait patiently for the morning brew to get ready. Then came instant coffee – if you were in a hurry, you could get it much faster. You still needed to heat up the water, but it didn’t have to ‘perk.’ Of course, now we have Keurig cups (or whatever brand you prefer) and the machines heat up the water…instantly.

 

The same was true of pudding, one of my favorite childhood desserts. It had to be cooked over the stove, then put into the refrigerator to cool and set. When instant pudding was introduced, it was heralded as a time-saver.

 

Ovens and stoves still play a huge role at mealtime, but I remember when I and a friend debated whether to invest in microwave ovens. Hours slaving over the stove were condensed to mere minutes – almost instantly. The ‘watched pot’ that never boiled became the watched microwave that didn’t beep. And for those who didn’t want to go the microwave route, have you heard of “fast food”?

 

Our instant gratification impulses weren’t limited to our hunger cravings. Television sets with tubes used to take minutes to warm up; TVs now turn on with the click of a remote. Drive-thru windows spare us having to get out of our cars, whether to buy food, pay bills, or pick up merchandise. And let’s not even start on how communicating has been revolutionized by the Internet, email, texting, and our smartphones (speed-dialing?) to expedite whatever we want to do right now.

 

Instant gratification’s something we’ve all experienced and enjoyed. But even as it has accelerated the physical world in so many ways, instant gratification doesn’t work in our walk with the Lord.

 

One of the Bible’s foundational truths is the doctrine of sanctification. As Romans 5:1 tells us, “…we have been justified through faith.” Salvation can happen in a moment. However, sanctification – the process of becoming like Jesus Christ – isn’t instantaneous. Not even close. This is why the apostle Paul wrote with great confidence, “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). 

 

Presumably many of the people he was addressing in Philippi had been walking with Christ for quite a while. But Paul knew the so-called “Christian life” is day-to-day, at times arduous and never predictable. It takes time for an artist to create a beautiful sculpture or awe-inspiring painting; it takes a lifetime for God to shape us into the people He desires for us to be.

 

Often, we’d like the Lord to work swiftly, whether to free us from the bondage of destructive sins and habits, intervene in the lives of loved ones, or meet a specific need. But while we’re expecting Him to answer our prayers with a resounding “yes,” many times His answer is very different. The Psalms make this clear. We’re told to, “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” But a few verses later we’re told to, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him…” (Psalm 37:3-4,7).

 

Lest we disregard this and think, ‘Well, He didn’t really mean to wait,’ the same psalm later instructs us to, “Wait for the Lord and keep His way” (Psalm 37:34). Being still and waiting aren’t things most of us do very well. Instant gratification demands, “I want it…and I want it now!”

 

And yet God keeps underscoring the importance of waiting. Psalm 46:10 affirms the earlier psalm, admonishing us to, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” We could say this a promise still hasn’t been fulfilled completely. Because in many parts of the world, including our own nation, the one true God isn’t being honored and worshipped. Faith and trust in Him are often ridiculed and dismissed.

 

The Lord, however, isn’t worried at all, nor is He frustrated or disappointed. He declares, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

 

So, when we’re frantically hunting for a new job, anxiously searching for a new house, fretting over a serious health concern, or praying desperately about a painful family situation and wondering why God hasn’t answered our requests, we must remember: The Lord isn’t about instant gratification. His ways are perfect, and perfection doesn’t usually come with the blink of an eye or snap of the fingers.

 

It doesn’t bother God that His timetable isn’t the same as ours. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness…” (2 Peter 3:8-9). If you want instant gratification, go to McDonald’s. But you want what’s best, go to “God’s throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16) and if necessary, wait with confidence for His response.

Can We Find You in the ‘Impatient’ Parking Lot?

When I was a newspaper editor, there were a few embarrassing moments when we overlooked obvious typos in large headlines. The problem with newspapers on actual paper is that once they’ve been printed and distributed, you can’t press autocorrect and fix errors.

 

I can’t recall the specific instances, but I’ll never forget the feeling of egg-on-face when I picked up one of the papers and spotted the error. Why those stood out like sore thumbs after being printed but seemed invisible prior to that, I never figured out. In today’s digital age, newspapers, blogs and Internet sites have the luxury of being able to correct typos, hoping they were caught before anyone noticed.

 

Do hospitals
need proofreaders?

Imagine how the person felt who produced the large metal sign for a hospital that read, “Impatient Parking.” In-patient, impatient. They’re close, aren’t they? I have no idea how long that sign stood proudly before someone picked up on the problem. But the sign might really have been more accurate. Actually, a sign that reads ‘Patient Parking’ seems like an oxymoron.

 

Because if you’ve ever gone to a doctor’s office or a hospital, you quickly realize that while physicians are instructed to ‘have patients,’ the patients themselves are required to have patience – and lots of it.

 

The issue of patience vs. impatience isn’t restricted to medical facilities and offices, of course. When I’ve sat behind the wheel of my car at a traffic light that’s slow to turn, you could describe my idling vehicle as impatient parking. The same applies to waiting while a shopper at the supermarket leisurely loads his or her groceries into their car while I sit restlessly waiting for them to move so I can claim their parking spot.

 

It boils down to this: I wouldn’t mind waiting if it didn’t take so long. Impatience has been a defining characteristic for much of my life. I’ve never been good at ‘hurry up and wait.’ That’s probably true for more of us than we’d like to admit. Some societies around the world might choose to proceed at slower, more relaxing paces, but many of us in America have grown accustomed to marching orders like “ASAP,” “stat!” and "immediately – if not sooner.”

 

This can present problems for us spiritually. Because God works at His own pace, and often it’s not at all the pace we’d prefer. In fact, one of the common traits of a growing, fruitful follower of Jesus Christ, as described in Galatians 5:22-23, is patience: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control….”

 

Why is this? Because the Lord operates according to His own schedule. Like it or not, it’s always perfect. Not early, not late; just right on time. Consider Philippians 1:6, which declares, “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” 

 

At those times when I attempt to assess my spiritual progress, I typically shake my head in dismay considering how far I am from where I think I should be. The verse above does give me hope and encouragement, since it promises that what God has started in our lives He’s determined to finish.

 

Many of us would like to think we’re making a difference in this world, being used by God in some small way to participate in what He’s doing, but sometimes it seems like nothing is happening. This is when we need to read and meditate on verses like Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

 

In another of his epistles, the apostle Paul expresses similar sentiments to believers in ancient Corinth, a very pagan, ungodly city. He admonished them, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

 

When we think about it, the Christian life is a continual exercise of patience, clinging to faith even when circumstances seem beyond hope. As Paul wrote to Christ followers in Rome, “…but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently” (Romans 8:23-25).

So, if you find yourself in the “Impatient Parking” lot, you’re not alone. But we should take heart. God’s not finished with us yet. He’s busy completing the work He began in us, as well as the world around us. As an older New American Standard translation phrases it, “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”