“Now Finish the Work”

This morning I was reading again from II Corinthians 8, one of the most important passages in the Bible related to giving and generosity. Paul is writing to the church at Corinth encouraging them to collect the offering to be sent to the church in Jerusalem that was in dire need. Paul encouraged all of the churches that he worked with to collect an offering like this. To explain why, he says…

¹³Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. ¹⁴At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, ¹⁵as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”

It’s an essential passage expressing to us the importance of sacrifice on behalf of the welfare of others.

Today, however, I was struck by these words which precede this text.

¹⁰And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. ¹¹Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.

Those words got me thinking about the importance of “follow through” in my life. In my mind, finishing the task we’ve started is important for two reasons.

• People often make judgements about how much they can trust someone based on their “follow through.” I admit that sometimes that’s unfair, but it’s still a reality that any leader has to understand.
• [More importantly] The “fruit” that God is seeking to produce in our lives does not have the chance to fully “ripen” when we do not, “finish the work.”

Three thoughts come to my mind this morning as I think about, “finishing the work,” in my life.

*Stay Fresh

Stepping away from the work, resting my body, mind and spirit, taking a regular Sabbath, and being attentive to my own spiritual disciplines is essential for me to stay fresh in my life.

*Stay Focused

Being attentive to the rhythm I need to maintain in my life in order to stay locked into the goals and objectives I’ve set is really important to me. I add to that simply keeping the most important tasks I need to complete right in front of me to reduce distractions.

*Stay Faithful

Faith is often a choice, not a feeling. I have to choose, by faith, to do the difficult work I sometimes don’t want to do in order to finish the work God has called me to start and complete in my life.

Categories: Bible Study, Message Resources