Skip to content ↓

Looking Back on a Finished Lifework

Looking Back on a Finished Lifework

I have long observed that it is the rare individual who values completing a task as highly as beginning one. We are all good at setting out with great gusto, but so often, whether through poor planning or waning interest or even the vicissitudes of providence, we fail to complete what we’ve begun. If this is true of our minor plans and tasks, how much more the ones we thought might define our legacy on this earth. Thankfully this is not the case with the Lord, as this quote from F.B. Meyer so eloquently explains.

It is very seldom that man can look back on a finished lifework.

The chisel drops from the paralyzed hand ere the statue is complete; the chilling fingers refuse to guide the pen along another line, though the book is so nearly done; the statesman must leave his plans and far-reaching schemes to be completed by another, perhaps his rival.

But as from his cross Jesus Christ our Lord looked upon the work of redemption which he had undertaken, and in connection with which he had suffered even to the hiding of his Father’s face, he could not discover one stitch, or stone, or particle deficient.

For untold myriads for thee and me and all there was done that which never needed to be done again, but stood as an accomplished fact forevermore.


  • The Most Neglected Element of Worship

    The Most Neglected Element of Worship

    There are some elements of public worship that receive a great deal of attention. These elements are taught, practiced, rehearsed, and perfected until they are as good as they can be. In most churches, this includes the music, of course, and often the preaching. Why do these receive so much attention?

  • wed 3

    A La Carte (May 20)

    The pastor who refuses to back down / The missionary with Ebola / Why we don’t trust pastors / Rushing our quiet times / The other side of seminary / The remedy, the problem, and the church / Why we need to interpret the Bible / Kindle deals / and more.

  • tues 3

    A La Carte (May 19)

    The wrong lessons from the latest scandal / The blessing of being forgotten / If your chatbot offers prayer / Have tongues ceased? / Consider the small town / Thinking Christianly about complex topics / Book releases / and more.

  • Off the Hook

    God Doesn’t Ask You To Let Him Off the Hook

    There are many ways that human beings can display our pride and arrogance toward God. There are many ways that even those of us who love him can display that we think we know better than he does. There are many ways we can behave with conceit, but perhaps never more so than when we…

  • mon 3

    A La Carte (May 18)

    I am not enough for my kids / The dangerous days past middle age / Are you filled with the Spirit? / Give away lots of money / The best way to resist temptation / A year with Pope Leo / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Works and Wonders May 17

    Works & Wonders (May 17)

    Works & Wonders features Nate Bargatze vs. Beyoncé, Eric Church & Jonathan Haidt, houses for €1, “Gone Away with a Friend,” hymn sings, a Sunday devotional, and more.