04-29-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 29, 2023
My car registration sticker had been sitting on the dining room table for a while, yet the end of the month was approaching, and it needed to get put in its proper place. I don’t know about you, but there are certain things where I get 92% of it done but don’t quite get it past the finish line. The inspection was done, the online registration was paid for and completed, and the sticker arrived in the mail. The simplest part was all that remained. But it took me nearly two weeks to pick up the sticker that sat on the table, walk out to the garage, remove the old one, and place the new one where the old one had been. The whole thing might have taken two minutes of my life, yet why did I procrastinate? I’m sure the answer to that question might require the help of a good therapist, but it does make me wonder how many other places I've done something similar. How often have I not completed what needed to be completed because I kept on telling myself that I’d get to that final step tomorrow? There have been moments when I wanted to make my opinion known to a politician. I wrote what I felt to be a thoughtful and well-researched letter/email, but never looked up the address for the politician. I wonder if there is any place in our faith journey where we have done something similar. We have done some good work, set the stage well, but we didn’t actually take the final step. Now, I believe God is gracious no matter our lack of follow-through, but the real impact our faith has on the world is most often found in that last step. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, "I’m sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus" (1:6). My faith tells me that God will stay with me, but there is still a responsibility on my part to help bring the task to completion.

​Wherever I am coming up a little short, Merciful God, bring your Spirit alongside with the intention of giving me the necessary nudge. Amen.