The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me; Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever, forsake not the works of Thine own hands. Psalm 138:8
I think we have all seen that bumper sticker: Please be patient; God is not done with me yet. It’s true, we are all a work in progress. The same thought as today’s text is also contained in Philippians 1:6: Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. God has His plans for us, and He keeps working on those plans until our time here is over.
Think of a little baby, a few days old, knowing only to cry when uncomfortable and feed when hungry. Think of that same person, grown to adulthood and capable of managing tasks of great complexity and skill. From the baby to the adult, somebody did a lot of work in terms of teaching, guiding, encouraging, and goading. The end result bears no resemblance to the infant in arms. But it’s the same person. We are like that when God saves us. Just like a tiny baby, we have very limited knowledge and abilities. God’s process of ‘perfecting’ us will take years and involve many changes and improvements in our attitudes, knowledge, and maturity.
We need to be careful when dealing with young Christians. Lest we be too critical of them, we need to understand that they may just not be as far along the path to spiritual maturity as we think. We need to encourage and help them, not condemn them for their missteps.
Mature Christians are also a work in progress, even though some of us might get the misguided idea that we have ‘arrived’. God still has much to teach us and many changes to work out in us before we are what he wants us to be.
Be very aware of the older Christians around you. These dear folks are getting very close to where God will have them to be. There’s not much left to change, in many cases, although many older saints will admit that the biggest room they have is the one for improvement. We can all benefit from time spent in the company of those whose spirits are approaching the final stages of God’s assembly-line.
Yes, God is still working on us. But the plan He has for us will be accomplished more fully if we allow Him to do His work. -Jim MacIntosh