By David ReayWednesday 4 Sep 2019LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (NLT)
How sad it is that we beat ourselves up for not being perfect, that we get stuck into a church or Christian group because of the failings evident. Paul, who was no soft touch, is yet well aware of the imperfections of the people to whom he writes. He gives thanks for them—whatever their failings. After all, they are partners with him in the great cause of Jesus.
And he reminds them and us that we are on a journey that has not yet reached its end. God has started work on us but the work is ongoing. We are work in progress not work completed. How tiresome it is to see leaders demanding so-called ‘excellence’ from church members. Of course we ought to give our best and not be shoddy or careless. But such demands can easily be interpreted as a crushing insistence on something approaching perfection. Little wonder some find some churches utterly wearying.
The frustrating news is that we haven’t arrived at complete maturity. We still stumble and fall. We let ourselves and others and our God down. The much better news is that one day the journey will end. The one who launched us on the journey and who accompanies us on the journey, will take us across the finishing line.
One day, we will be the people God made us to be, and we will be those people forever. No more work in progress, just work well and truly done.
Blessings
David