Have you ever had a problem finishing things? It's a great google search if you get bored. Helping me combat this problem has turned into an entire industry of coaching, strategic plans, books, online courses and much more. On the downside, it serves as both a symptom and effect of a host of medical conditions.

As we chase through life, especially since our culture has transitioned from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy, our own vocation or job doesn't provide the satisfaction of finishing things. It's a base human emotion that we struggle with and now live in a world where being "done" seems like an impossible task. The satisfaction of stepping back to send an end result is something we have a natural desire for.

So what if I told you this is an emotion we are predisposed to by a loving God?

Jesus' first words around his ministry in the Gospel of Mark proclaim this;

"The time promised by God has come at last!" he announced. "The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!" Mark 1:15 NLT

There is an end-result to what had been going on, and something radically different was happening within space and time.

But the story starts before Jesus uttered these words. Matthew wrote his entire gospel to help Jewish people understand that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, and the promised Messiah. And he told this story filled with the message of fulfillment, the message of a thing that has been finished.

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. "Get up!" the angel said. "Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead."

So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod's son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: "He will be called a Nazarene." Matthew 2:19-23 NLT

Matthew is letting us know, with the simple statement of prophetic fulfillment that God has kept His promise, and he has done it in the way He has communicated to His people. Fulfillment is a big deal, and prophecy is a big deal. Because the essence of prophecy is hope, not optimism. In our own lives we can confuse these two things easily.

So let's have a conversation this Sunday about what fulfillment is actually like…and what happens when we open ourselves up to it.