Finish the Race!

Hey folks....I thought I'd try my hand at writing another one of these so bear with me!

2 Corinthians 8:10-12 (NIV)

And 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. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

Finish the Race!

How many times have you had a good idea and started working on it, only to end up quitting midway through? It happens to the best of us, and it always seems to be for a different reason.

A few summers ago I worked at a day camp as one of the Arts & Crafts teachers and one of the projects we did with the kids was to make stuff out of Sculpey (that brightly colored clay that you bake to harden). In order for the project to stay together without cracking, it had to be tiny (we're talking lima bean sized). Anyway, as the "teacher" I spent a couple hours constructing miniature fruit baskets, cartoon characters, etc. as samples for the kids. I got to be pretty good at it and had the bright idea that I could make stuff and sell it on the street (e.g. jewelry and the like). To this day, I have Sculpey and accessories collecting dust in my closet at home (along with the workings of many other ditched endeavors).

The point of this story is that it's great to be creative and come up with cool ideas but it's meaningless if we can't finish the job. To actually reference my chosen title (I hate titles!) it's kind of like running a race. We do all of this preparation for the big day but if we don't show up, or if we drop out midway through, we have nothing to show for all of our hard work.

Paul is talking about giving (financial support) in this passage, but I believe that it's applicable to all areas of our lives. If it means that you have to do fewer things (activities, etc) in order to be able to complete them all, so be it. We should be doing everything for the glory of God and a half finished product is not a very good way of showing your love for him.

As the semester winds down, and you begin to tire of all the responsibilities and work that school demands, ask God for the strength and desire to be able to "Finish the Race." After all that you've put into your studies it would be a shame (not to mention a diservice to God, who blessed us with this opportunity in the first place) to let it go to waste. Being a first semester senior with the end so near this verse (v.11) has become an integral part of my life these days-- I challenge you to make it part of yours as well.

-AMR