Finishing Well

Jim and Andrea,
with Katherine and Luke

Andrea and I have been living in Central Asia since 1996. My main role during these years has been working with a team to help translate the Old Testament and revise the New Testament for one of the languages in the region. In December our team will have its last official meeting with the project consultant when we will check the translation of 2 Corinthians, 1-2 Timothy and Titus. Once we’ve completed this check, the translation will be essentially completed. In 2013 the team will work on finalizing the text and adding supplementary materials leading up to the publication of the whole Bible in this language for the first time.As the end of this project draws near, I’ve been reflecting on the challenge of “finishing well”. I have a mixture of feelings. Recently a friend commented to me what an amazing accomplishment it is to stay with one task and focus for such a long time. It was encouraging to recall the Lord’s grace in enabling us to continue in this work overs so many years. He’s been faithful to provide all that we’ve needed as a family so that we could live and work in this region for many years, despite numerous challenges. So there’s a feeling of satisfaction and the desire to keep running to the finish line.

But in the past six months we’ve personally experienced many difficulties. It’s been said that often “things go wrong” when a translation nears completion. It seems we’ve had a lot of “things go wrong” in our personal situation since we returned to the field in January. Nothing major, but one small stressor after the other: things breaking down suddenly (seemingly all at once) and needing to be fixed, minor injuries that need attention, a robbery, new conflicts arising, close friends leaving the field…etc. We’re even more aware how much we need your prayers lest we be overwhelmed by whatever tests and challenges lay ahead on the road to the finish line.

There is also the challenge to not grow complacent. As the project nears completion, it’s easy for me to lose motivation. The future after this project is unclear at this point. That uncertainty is something that can become an encumbrance to staying in stride. I need to remind myself that my life and career are not coming to an end, just one phase of it. I feel the need for fresh motivation and guidance for the next “chapter” God has for me. So I’ve been reminded that “finishing well” is a metaphor that relates to much more than simply one project (even one that takes 17-18 years to complete!). I want to finish well in life. I want to keep serving God faithfully all the way to the end of my time on earth, wherever and however he leads.At times I need to remind myself why I’m doing what I’m doing. First, because God called me to do it. I believe He’s led me all the way and I can count on His leading me into the future, even when I can’t always feel it. Second, because I believe in the fundamental importance of people having God’s word in their own language if they are to be truly impacted and transformed. The local church cannot grow to maturity without God’s word in the mother-tongue of the people. Finally, because of the privilege of being a part of God’s plan. God is redeeming all nations from the fall, giving them a taste of the age to come, when all will be remade and all will worship Him and know his presence with them forever. I want to be a part of that!

Thanks for praying for us and supporting us through your gifts to the missions program at Park Street. We, together with you, want to stay on course and finish well. Without the support and encouragement from the body of Christ, none of us can do that.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

Click Here for a thought-provoking poem which is a prayer to finish well see

Jim serves as a missionary in Central Asia