Thursday Read: Finishing What You Started

Paul stood before the Ephesian elders knowing he'd never see them again. His farewell address included these powerful words: "I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus" (Acts 20:24). Later, writing from prison before his execution, he declared with satisfaction: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul's life was characterized by completion, by finishing what he started.

We live in a culture of abandoned projects. Unread books pile on nightstands. Gym memberships go unused after January. New Year's resolutions die by February. Started businesses close within months. Marriages end when they get difficult. Commitments evaporate when they become inconvenient. We're great at starting but terrible at finishing, passionate about beginnings but indifferent about endings.

This tendency infects our spiritual lives too. We start Bible reading plans we never complete. We commit to prayer disciplines we abandon after a week. We join small groups we eventually ghost. We make promises to God we quietly break. We begin spiritual practices with enthusiasm that fades into apathy. Jesus warned about this in his parable of the soils: some seed springs up quickly but withers when sun comes because it has no root (Matthew 13:5-6).

The writer of Hebrews urged believers to "run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). Not sprint with enthusiasm at the start, not jog casually when convenient, but run with endurance - sustained effort over the long haul, faithfulness when feelings fade, persistence when passion wanes. Christian maturity isn't measured by exciting beginnings but by faithful endings.

Jesus himself modeled this. On the cross, his final words included "It is finished" (John 19:30). His mission was complete, his work accomplished, his purpose fulfilled. He didn't quit when it got hard, didn't abandon his calling when it became painful, didn't give up when disciples fled. He finished what the Father sent him to do, no matter the cost.

What have you started that you need to finish? What commitment have you abandoned that God wants you to return to? What spiritual discipline have you quit that would bear fruit if you persisted? Finishing isn't always about dramatic completion - sometimes it's just showing up consistently, doing the next right thing, taking one more step when you want to quit. God values faithfulness over fireworks, endurance over excitement, completion over commencement.

The Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. Many will start with you; fewer will finish. Don't be distracted by those who began with more talent, more resources, more advantages. Just keep running your race, fixing your eyes on Jesus who both started and finished his. One day you'll hear what matters most: "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21). That reward is worth finishing for.