At pakisabi ninyo kay Arquipo na ipagpatuloy ang gawaing tinanggap niya sa Panginoon.

Mga Taga-Colosas 4:17

One of the problems that most people encounter today but are not willing to admit is that we have a hard time finishing what we started. Mula sa gym commitments down to art projects, napakarami na siguro nating mga istorya tungkol sa mga bagay na ginusto nating matapos but never had the time, or the passion, to continue.

Maraming dahilan kung bakit natin ito nararanasan. One is discouragement. May mga bagay tayong ginagawa na sadyang mahirap at kadalasan ay hindi naiintindihan ng marami. Second is fear. We fear that we will fail or we fear na hindi mangyayari ang expected outcome natin. Third are distractions. These can involve certain preoccupations na hindi natin namamalayan are swaying us away from completing our assignments.

Isa sa mga dahilan na ito marahil ang nag-cause ng pag-pause ni Arquipo sa pinapagawa sa kanya ng Panginoon. Isa siya sa early leaders of the church historically known to serve at Laodicea. Kaya minarapat ni Apostle Paul to remind and encourage him na magpatuloy. Ika nga sa salitang Cebuano — “padayon.” Ito ay nangangahulugang “magpatuloy.” Magpatuloy hanggang matapos. Never give up!

God wants us, his children, to finish well. That is why He gave us everything we needed to do so. Una, binigyan tayo ng Diyos ng measure of faith to do our callings well (Romans 12:3). He also gave us divine power (2 Peter 1:3) so that our character can match our callings. And most importantly, binigyan tayo ng Diyos ng Holy Spirit (John 16). Siya ang nagtuturo, nagtatama, nagcocomfort, at gumagabay sa atin upang makumpleto ang lahat ng dapat nating matapos sa ating buhay.

Finishing is indeed better than starting. Padayon lang at huwag susuko. Discouragements, fear, and distractions are no match for the power of God living inside each one of us.