Tonight I am enjoying a cold rainy night, in my inner grunge zone, complete with beanie, coffee and sweet worship in my earbuds. I am in a good place. My first Sunday night in a long while that I am not preparing to get up and work in the morning. The beginning of a new season for me, unemployed and resting. A season many of you are also currently sitting in, or will in the future.
What’s on my mind are endings. Ending well specifically. It was important to finish well at my job, a position I truly loved. But also a position that also became a thorn in my side. Both can be true at the same time I suppose. And while ending something that has become thorny is necessary, it is difficult. 2 Timothy 4:7 played on repeat during my off-boarding: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. I think of the Apostle Paul in prison, feeling the end of his life was near, and diligently enduring in his ministry. He told Timothy he had fought hard and has not lost heart. How can we not learn from Paul and strive to finish well in all things, especially when our endings are nearly as horrible as Paul’s prison cell?
There are some things I am learning in this area. Such as knowing when to end, so that new can begin. Finishing well, so that I can leave in love, not bitterness. Allowing myself to walk through an ending, so I can properly process the feelings it brings. Often the best roads out of challenges are through them.
The end of a matter is better than its beginning; Ecclesiastes 7:8
There is a powerful book, Necessary Endings, by Dr. Henry Cloud. It explores, explains and expertly discusses endings in such an exquisite way I won’t attempt to retell it. But it is a great read and guides us through seasons of pruning and preparing for endings that will bring about a great harvest. Seasonal lessons that align with the natural seasons God created for our world. Wether it be a job, relationship, or habit - all things are better managed when we can align our bodies with our values with our strengths with our goals, and with God.
However, ending well, or ending at all, is much harder than it sounds. Have you ever tried to stop a bad habit? Or a bad relationship? Ending is hard y’all. And when there is risk or potential for painful consequences, it is harder still. And knowing precisely when to end is a science I’ve not mastered. But I do know this, our choices are not always between right and wrong, but between what may hinder us or not. Knowing when to rightly walk away from something might require us to ask if continuing the thing is hindering our growth, our purpose, our obedience or our relationship with Christ.
So as the saying goes, “All’s well that ends well” (Thank you Shakespeare), we can often find sweet reward at the end of finishing well. The question is, how? First it’s important to properly frame trials and suffering. Assuming that the thing that needs ending is resulting in some form of trial, or is in some way suffering. Though it is important to remember that even good things sometimes need ending.
Anyway, back to leaving thorny things. Thorny things are meant to drive us closer to God, and to dependence on Him alone. Once we know and trust this concept, we can see that enduring any trial offers great opportunity to grow in our relationship with God. That is a sweet reward. In this way, we can also see most moments in life are really learning opportunities. When we can see opportunities in each moment to learn and grow, we can better keep our eyes fixed on the light at the end of the tunnel: Jesus. Eternity. Heaven. And this makes trials easier to walk through. So as for endings, the same is true. We are able to close something with the hope of new opportunities waiting ahead. A willingness to step into the next thing God has for us, a trust that He is refining us, and a hope that He is guiding our steps.
So how do we do all this well? And why is it important? It is important for many reasons, both worldly and spiritual. Maybe we want to maintain our integrity, uphold an honorable reputation, or be a good human. We may want to leave some legacy and see what we started continued on. We may want to please God, hear the words “well done good and faithful servant” and portray a strong faith. All good motives.
The bible however would remind us that how we end a thing is more important than how we begin. Let’s return to 2 Timothy. Paul teaches that we are given a ‘holy calling’ and entrusted with the gospel. Entrusted with all things in fact. The message is that we are to do all we can, with all we have, as long as we are able. One of the messages in 2 Timothy is that a good man will seek opportunities to do good; and leaving a job is a perfect opportunity. That is when the ‘world’ might respond with bitterness, or carelessness, or lack of even caring at all. Many would say it’s ok to just ‘be done’ and get gone without a second thought. Some are hypocrites who loved something in the beginning but ungratefully left as if they hated it all along. But someone who wants to do right might see this as a pathway to showing others the grace we have been freely given. This is how we remain set apart.
There is another lesson here in 2 Timothy, that speaks to endings. In chapter 2, Paul is urging Timothy to remain diligent in his ministry. He warns that we must hold loose things of this world - employing ourselves in the work we are here to do - while also not getting entangled in them to be distracted from the main thing. Shame on me for all the times I failed at this. Times when I engaged in gossip or slander. Lord, help me to untangle myself. The instruction though leads us to reckon that all things, both good and thorny, will end. Endings are often good and we must not shy from them. When we embrace the finish, and do so with a high standard, we grow and flourish in ways we may have never expected. We are virtually freeing ourselves to bloom again. We are aligning our hearts integrity with our actions, Jeremiah 32: 39, in allegience to our claim for eternal hope, which will never end.
As you recognize things in your life that will need to be ended, will you do it well? Can you stay strong until crossing the finish line without walking in the last leg? Or worse, walking off the track altogether? The legacy you will leave is best written with a strong ending. Fight the good fight my friend, for the crown of righteousness awaits.
Commenti