Hope for Completion
Scripture Reading — Philippians 1:3-11
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Some Christians can point to a single moment of conversion, a moment when they accepted Jesus into their heart and began to follow him. Other Christians grew to know Jesus so gradually that it is hard for them to point to just one moment of conversion. They talk about experiencing several different moments of conversion instead, or a lifelong process of conversion.
No matter how one’s Christian faith began, it is never finished at that moment. Following Jesus is a lifelong process. When the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian church, he prayed that their love would abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. When the Philippians first became Christians, they began to love God and their neighbors, but they still had much more growing to do. And so do we.
The process of Christian growth should not be daunting or intimidating. God has promised to generate the growth within us. Even the process of growth comes to us as a gracious gift from God.
Our growth and progress as Christians will not reach completion in this life. No matter how mature we are, we can still grow more in Christlikeness and in love. But God promises that our love will continue to grow, and that when Christ comes again it will be complete.
Dear God, we praise you for the lifelong process of growth that you work in us by your Holy Spirit. Give us patient endurance as we grow to be more like you. Amen.
About the author — Rebecca Jordan Heys
Rebecca Jordan Heys serves as a pastor at Calvin Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She and her husband, Kyle, are the parents of two children.
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