In Philippians, Paul writes: 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. (Phi. 1:6, NLT) There is something so
comforting in those first three words: I
am certain. There is absolutely no doubt in Paul’s mind whatsoever, even as he
was imprisoned in Rome, that God would and will finish that which he started—the
redemption and reconciliation of mankind to himself.
God will stop at nothing to accomplish his goal—God himself,
by his own power, lowered himself into humanity, lived among us and allowed us
to violently end his human life so that he could defeat the death we invited in
with our sin. He defeated death for us and offers us life with him. STOP. Let’s
read that again. God will stop at nothing
to accomplish his goal—God himself, by his own power, lowered himself into
humanity, lived among us and allowed us to violently end his human life so that
he could defeat the death we invited in with our sin. He defeated death for us
and offers us life with him. The power and ability to do what he did then
and continues to do towards our reconciliation is incomprehensible and
unimaginable. Let’s not just gloss over it like he was gluing together a broken
vase. The work he is doing to bring us back to him is intricate and delicate
for we are both stronger than we know and more fragile than we would ever choose
to admit. There is work to be done and it must be done with precision of God’s
steady hand and ultimate craftsmanship.
Knowing that God will not stop until I am the woman he
created me to be both scares me and brings me great joy. It scares me because
the unknown and change lie ahead of me. I don’t like change (though I am getting
used to it) and the very thought of the unknown sometimes make my blood rush in
with anxiety through my body and takes my breath away. It brings me joy because
I know for certain that he loves me and will always be with me. I know beyond the
shadow of a doubt that the closer he gets to completing his work in me, the
more intimate and full our relationship will be.
So what’s my part in all of this? To let him. God’s goal of
reconciliation requires that I choose of my own freewill to be reconciled to
him. That’s my only job. To say yes. Yes to him. Yes to his sovereignty in my
life. My job is to fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of my faith. (Heb.
12:2a, NIV) I am his apprentice watching my teacher, learning the art of living
a godly life copying what I see him do until it becomes a part of who I am.
No comments:
Post a Comment