God’s Not Done Yet.
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. — Philippians 1:6, NIV
Have you ever thought about this scripture? Until the day of Christ Jesus… That would be the end of time. God will continue to work on us until the end of time.
God never gives up. He knows we will never be perfect. His work in us will never be complete this side of heaven. And yet he continues to work in us, to grow us, to bring us closer to him.
It’s amazing. God never gives up. And he knows we will never be perfect this side of heaven.
So why do we expect perfection of ourselves? Why do we scrape and try and fight for something we’ll never have?
Yes, as Christians, we should live righteously. This glorifies God, and as we grow closer to him, we will live more and more righteously as he works in us. He’s the one doing the work. We have to give some effort, make the right choices, but even then it’s the Holy Spirit at work in us to enable us to choose what is right.
We’ll still make mistakes, because we’re only human. If God didn’t expect us to mess up, then why would his word say that he will continue to work in us until the end of time? If we were capable of living perfect lives, his work would come to completion in us within our lifetimes.
“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21)
Christ’s death was not for nothing. He died for us, to save us, doing what good works could never do. If we could be perfect and live perfect, we wouldn’t need grace.
But we are imperfect. We are broken. Flawed, fallen, sinners. But we are saved by grace, and by that grace we are transformed. “We live by faith” (2 Corinthians 5:7) Galatians 3:11 says, “No one who relies on the law is justified before God, because ‘the righteous will live by faith.’” Salvation is by faith; not by works. The perfection and righteousness God requires comes through faith in Christ, not ourselves.
We should try to live right, not to earn our keep with God, but because we love him and want to do what pleases him. What do you do when you love someone? You try to make them happy. You won’t purposely do something that will hurt someone you love. So we don’t live in sin, because that displeases God and draws us away from him. If we choose sin over God long enough, we will no longer be his children.
We obey God for the same reason we obey our parents. Not every situation is like this, but in a healthy family, the kids know their parents’ rules are there for a reason. They trust and respect their parents, so they obey the rules even when they don’t make sense.
That’s how it is with God. He doesn’t give us rules to hurt us or keep us from enjoying life. The way he wants us to live will enable us to enjoy life the way it’s meant to be enjoyed. It’s so we won’t fall into sin and ultimately death. It’s so we can be closer to him.
But what if we fail? God knows we will!
He knows we will continue to sin and mess up for as long as we live on this earth. Because we are human. God knows. He understands. That’s why he’ll keep working on us. God loves us so much, cares so much about us, is so patient and full of grace and kindness that he will keep working on us until the end of time.
Scripture says that love “always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:7-8)
It also says, “God is love.” (1 John 4:16)
God always hopes. God always perseveres. God never fails.
God never fails. He never gives up. He knows we’ll never be perfect here, but he will keep working on us.
Give yourself some grace. Live righteously, but don’t expect perfection. God doesn’t. So why should you?
Trust God. Pray for him to help you live well, to honor him and bring him glory. Ask him to bring you close to him. He will. And he will always keep working on you. He never gives up. So don’t you ever give up.
