Finish the Work

Philippians1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

We knew my 90-year-old mother didn’t have long to live. As she lay dying on our couch in the living room, our family gathered around her. My brother and his family drove in from Ohio and my daughter’s family came from Rhode Island to say their last goodbyes. Our son, who was working in Nashville, managed to get a last-minute flight into Harrisburg to see his grandma before she took her last breath. But his plane didn’t land until midnight, and I was concerned he wouldn’t make it.

Every time Mom dozed off, she literally stopped breathing, and whenever this happened, I gently shook her shoulder to keep her awake. At one point she even said, “Stop pestering me!” But I knew she had all eternity to rest. And I didn’t want her to get there ahead of time!

God wasn’t done with Mom’s life. He intended for her to live not only until Josiah got home, but through the next morning. Each of us were able to have closure one last time before she died in my and my brother’s arms later that afternoon. Mom finished her work on the earth.

Paul assured the Philippian church that God would complete the work he started in them. In the meantime, they were to press on toward the high calling (3:14). Paul must have known a few things about our human tendency to give up or give in when we don’t understand what God is doing. He recognized the temptation of falling back to self-reliance rather than trusting the Lord to help us finish the race. So he encouraged the church to trust God to complete their work.

That same assurance extends to us.

My mom has entered her rest. And so will we someday. Who knows? Maybe the greatest work of our lives will happen in our last moments. Until God calls us home, we have the opportunity to shine his light. To make the world a bit brighter. So let’s hold fast, unswervingly, to the promise. God will complete the work in you and in me for a glory far greater than we can imagine.

Don’t give up, my friend. Take this as my pestering nudge.