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His Name Is
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Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Email:
Pastor Scott Carson

Secretary Patti Hall

PASTOR'S PENS 2003

Grace Church of Burlington December 28, 2003 Not enough is said or written today about finishing well though lots of material is available on motivation to get started and creative ways to spark initiative. Plenty of advice is floating around on setting goals and establishing priorities and developing a game plan. All of it is insightful and needed. Getting off the dime is often a Herculean task. Starting well is Plan "A," no doubt about it. But let’s hear it for the opposite end for a change. Let’s extol the virtues of sticking with something until it’s done. Of hanging tough when the excitement and fun fade into discipline and guts. You know, being just as determined eight minutes into the fourth quarter as at the kickoff. Not losing heart even though the project has lost its appeal.             Our generation is succumbing to the "I’m‑getting-tired‑so‑let’s‑just‑quit" mentality. And not just in the spiritual realm. Dieting is a discipline, so we stay fat. Finishing school is a hassle, so we bail out. Cultivating a close relationship is painful, so we back off. Even reading a book is demanding, so we stop short. Working through conflicts in a marriage is a tiring struggle, so we walk away. Sticking with an occupation is tough, so we start looking elsewhere. The "let’s‑just‑quit" mentality is upon us.             Ignace Jan Paderewski, the famous composer‑pianist, was scheduled to perform at a great concert hall in America. It was an evening to remember– black tuxedos and long evening dresses, a high‑society extravaganza. Present in the audience that evening was a mother with her fidgety nine‑year‑old son. Weary of waiting, he squirmed constantly in his seat. His mother was in hopes that her boy would be encouraged to practice the piano if he could just hear the immortal Paderewski at the keyboard. So, against his wishes, he had come.             As she turned to talk with friends, her young son could stay seated no longer. He slipped away from her side, strangely drawn to the ebony concert grand Steinway and its leather tufted stool on the huge stage flooded with blinding lights. Without much notice from the sophisticated audience, the boy sat down at the stool, staring wide‑eyed at the black and white keys.  He placed his small, trembling fingers in the right location and began to play “chopsticks.”  The roar of the crowd was hushed as hundreds of frowning faces turned in his direction.  Irritated and embarrassed, they began to shout: "Get that boy away from there!" "Who’d bring a kid that young in here?" "Where’s his mother?" "Somebody stop him!"             Backstage, the master overheard the sounds out front and quickly put together in his mind what was happening. Hurriedly, he grabbed his coat and rushed toward the stage. Without one word of announcement he stooped over behind the boy, reached around both sides, and began to improvise a countermelody to harmonize with and enhance "chopsticks." As the two of them played together, Paderewski kept whispering in the boy’s ear: “Keep going. Don’t quit, son. Keep on playing...don’t stop... don’t quit.”             And so it is with us. We hammer away on our project, which seems about as significant as "chopsticks" in a concert hail. And about the time we are ready to give it up, along comes the Master, who leans over and whispers: “Now keep going; don’t quit. Keep on...don’t stop; don’t quit...” as He improvises on our behalf, providing just the right touch at just the right moment.             Friend, are you weary? Is the road getting long and hope wearing a little thin? Listen to the Master’s whispering: “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary” (Galatians 6:9). “Be steadfast, immovable... your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).             So many start the Christian life like a lightning flash—hot, fast, and dazzling. But how many people (aged sixty and over) can you name who are finishing the course with sustained enthusiasm and vigor? Oh, there are some but why so few? Friend, be a finisher, not a quitter – and hear those words from the lips of King Jesus, “Well, done good and faithful servant.”