Complete

There are only a few weeks left in this school year, and I know that for me school always seemed to drag by. There were many times that I thought summer would never come.

College was the same way. Each semester I would take every syllabus and make a list of all the assignments and when they were due. Whenever I would finish a paper I enjoyed crossing it off the list, but I must admit that there were times when I would look at how long the list was and begin to feel like I would never get it all finished.

Thoughts like that are what lead some to drop out of school. In life these similar thoughts lead some to give up on relationships or faith. Some people in the church become frustrated by repeated failures and shortcomings.

But let me remind you of the promise in Philippians 1:6. It says that we are “confidant in this very thing: that He who began a good work in you will complete it.” At the moment of salvation Jesus began a good work in us, and it is important that we remember that He will complete the work.

If you die two minutes after becoming a Christian then you will go to heaven, but if you don’t, then Jesus is still working on you. This good work He began is a lifestyle change; it is that voice that tells you to stop losing your temper, or to be more respectful to your parents, or to stop watching the show that takes His name in vain. 

Jesus began this work and He will complete it, but it will not be fully complete until we are in heaven, where there will be no more sin. In the meantime, we each will make mistakes. When we do, we simply need to repent and move on.

This work that Jesus began is a process. Don’t get frustrated; be confidant that He will complete it.