Back during the early days of the American involvement in World War II, the primary battles for the Allies were in the deserts of North Africa. Eventually, the British moved west from Egypt, and the Americans moved east from Casablanca and trapped the Germans in Tunisia. It was the first great Allied victory of World War II. This was how British Prime Minister Winston Churchill described that decisive campaign in North Africa: 

“This is not the end. It is not the beginning of the end. It is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

And certainly, in historical retrospect, we understand what Churchill meant. It was an important and necessary victory in the big scheme of things in the war against Hitler and the Axis powers, but there was still years of brutal war ahead.

This week in our Sunday worship services we will be commemorating two different sets of milestones. On the one hand, we will be honoring our graduates from the Class of 2024. We are proud of our graduates, and their achievements in completing this important stage of their lives, and we are excited about sharing in this special time with them. We will also be celebrating baptism on Sunday, with nine Christ-followers giving testimony of their faith and commitment to Jesus by being baptized. Another exciting event, for sure, as we join the angels in heaven who rejoice when sinners repent and follow Christ.

Both of these acts are celebrating significant markers in the lives of those who are involved. But it is important to understand that in both cases, they do not so much represent the end, but the beginning. Or perhaps, to borrow from Churchill, they are the end of the beginning.

Graduation from high school or college is a momentous culmination of many years of hard work in the process of education, both by the students and their families. But it is just the beginning of a long life of education and of seeking to make a difference in our world. On the other hand, professing faith through baptism represents a significant step in our faith journey, as it culminates God's work of grace for those believers. But again, it is only the beginning. Or perhaps the end of the beginning.

Both steps are necessary parts of the process of our lives, but we do not want to stop there. We believe that for the follower of Jesus, our best days are ahead of us.

Even the apostle Paul understood that, about his own life. In Philippians 3, he wrote about how the Lord had radically changed his life, from empty, legalistic religion to a vibrant and life-giving relationship of knowing Christ. But he was not ready to rest on his spiritual laurels, or be satisfied with where he was. He wrote: "Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:12-13)

That should be the goal and the passion for all of us, even as we celebrate the accomplishments and spiritual landmarks of our past. For we are not to live in the past, but instead we "press on" to what the Lord has for us in the future. And we do so with a hope that what the Lord is doing in our lives even now is only the beginning!

I am praying for you, as I hope you are for me, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday for a great day at Shelby Crossings.

--Pastor Ken