As a hospice chaplain, I (Larry) have the privilege of visiting people shortly before they step out of this life and into the next. Sometimes this is a very easy journey; other times people struggle to accept their decline and/or the inevitable approaching death.
During one particular visit, the wife shared that, even though her husband was ready to die, he seemed to be lingering and struggling. She said they often talked about heaven and how ready he was to meet his Lord. She, too, was ready, although after so many decades of marriage, she knew she would miss him terribly.
The challenge was, he kept talking about unfinished business, well, unfinished in his own mind at least. He talked of organizing prayer meetings, praying for the mission field, the need to get together with others…even though in his more lucid moments he knew his time was short.
We talked, he and I, about two things. The first was reflecting on how willing he was to help others out, and to serve others. He agreed that he loved to help others. I encouraged him to see how many people were willing to also help him and to take up the tasks he used to do.
The second reflection may have been more important. We talked about how Jesus spent a short three years in ministry on this earth, yet never seemed to be in a hurry. He wasn’t pressured into addressing “urgent” matters; he resolutely pursued what was important. When He hung on the cross, He didn’t fret about anything left undone; in fact, Jesus declared, “It is finished.” The work He had set out to do was fully complete.
I suggested to my friend that he, in a similar way, could look back on his life of ministry and say, “It is finished.” He could know others would pick up where he had left off and carry on in his absence. He acknowledged what had been said and we committed his journey into God’s hands.
The next day, he died. I believe he had been able to come to a peaceful recognition that God would continue the work he’d been involved with, using others. His work was finished.
The Scriptures tell us that our days are numbered. God gives us good work to do—there are no mistakes in what God sets before us. And when the last days arrive, we can do some heart work with God until we are able to say, “It is finished.”
