The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Good Work (Ever In Progress)"
We are all works in progress as born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
"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" (Philippians 1:6).
Our first consideration of this truth must not focus on our response to God, or our performance of faith and faithfulness. Rather, we begin by remembering the nature and goal of the "good work" our Heavenly Father performs:
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:28-29).
God works to conform us to the spiritual and moral image of the Lord Jesus. Our first thought in the light of such purpose should still our hearts with utter amazement. To be like Christ in character, nature, and way? How could such a gift of grace not be a "work in progress?" Our Father could grant no greater gift than this transformation from dust to "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Nor could He undertake a greater challenge in any of us, again, based not primarily upon our faith or faithfulness, but rather upon the standard of the wondrous Person of the Lord Jesus.
Even a cursory reading of the Gospels reveals a Heart wondrous beyond all imagination. "He is altogether lovely" foretold Solomon of the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament (Song of Solomon 5:16). "Even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written" declares the Apostle John in the New Testament regarding the wonders our Savior displayed during His earthly lifetime (John 21:25). To be like such a One? Whatever our response to God in past and present, surely we all look ahead in the realization of how much further the work must proceed, based on the splendidly sublime Person of our Savior. Indeed, to the Thessalonians, affirmed by Paul for their love of God and people, the Apostle encouraged, "As ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more" (I Thessalonians 4:1).
We can "be confident of this very thing" - in this day, God works to make us like His Son. The blessings, the challenges, and the everyday moments all progress with purpose, a divine objective more wondrously glorious than the brightest among us have ever pondered, or the most eloquent poet has ever penned. Christ lives in us so that we may "live through Him," and "walk, even as He walked" (I John 4:9; 2:6). No contemplation of God's grace should more cast us to our faces, and then raise us up to thrill, fill, and fulfill our hearts. Yes, we are and always will be the canvas upon which God paints the beauty of Christ, a good work indeed, God's good work, ever in progress.
"We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."
(I John 3:2)
Weekly Memory Verse
Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!
(Psalm 31:19)
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