Begin with the End

<p>&ldquo;What do you want to be when you grow up?&rdquo; I was often asked that question as a child. And the answers changed like the wind. A doctor. A firefighter. A missionary. A worship leader. A physicist&mdash;or actually, MacGyver! &nbsp;(a favorite TV character.) .Now, as a dad of four kids, I think of how difficult that question must be for them. There are times when I want to say, &ldquo;I know what you&rsquo;ll be great at!&rdquo; Parents can sometimes see more in their children than the children can see in themselves.</p> <p>This resonates with what Paul saw in the Philippian believers&mdash;those he loved and prayed for (Philippians 1:3). He could see the end; he knew what they&rsquo;d be when all was said and done. The Bible gives us a grand vision of the end of the story&mdash;resurrection and the renewal of all things (see 1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 21). But it also tells us who&rsquo;s writing the story.</p> <p>Paul, in the opening lines of a letter he wrote from prison, reminded the Philippian church that &ldquo;he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus&rdquo; (Philippians 1:6). Jesus started the work and He&rsquo;ll complete it. The word completion is particularly important&mdash;the story doesn&rsquo;t just end, for God leaves nothing unfinished.</p>