Everyone has made mistakes at some point in their life. We’ve all done things wrong or have failed. Sometimes we fail in a really big way. When we fail and really mess things up in a big way, we might feel that we have let our family and friends down, and that we have failed God. Sometimes, if this happens more than once, some friends might give up on us and turn away. That might even happen with some families. One too many goof-ups and people might not want anything more to do with us. Could this happen with God, as well? If we fail Him in a big way, or too many times, will He wash His hands of us? Will He say that He is finished with us? Our Scripture reading today from Paul’s letter to the Philippians will give us an answer to that question.
Paul had brought the message of Jesus to the city of Philippi several years prior to this letter, and now he is writing to them while sitting in prison for having preached the Gospel. Though his time in Philippi wasn’t long, he remembered back with fond and thankful thoughts of those who came to saving faith while there (vs. 3-5). Now Paul wanted to remind them of something important, something that is also just as important for us to know, as well. When we first came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, God began a work in us. That work is to conform us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). And Paul tells us here that when God began that work, He will complete that in us (vs. 6). This is a promise that we can depend on.
What if we have failed God, and let Him down? Some of us have started projects, made some mistakes, and then scrapped the whole thing. Maybe we started to draw something, or write something, and felt it wasn’t right, so we tossed it out. Maybe a meal we attempted to make didn’t turn out good, so we threw it away. Perhaps God might do the same with us, we think. Maybe we have failed in our Christian walk, and in life. Our former experiences in life have led us to believe that failure will bring rejection, even from God. As Paul tells us here, that is not the truth. God will finish the work He has begun in us (vs. 6). He will forgive (I John 1:9).
God views every mess in our lives as a masterpiece in the making. When He looks at our lives, He sees the beauty He is creating, not the turmoil. He will not stop mid-design, or call it quits. God will finish the good work He started. He won’t give up. As we accept God’s work in us, He will transform us to become more like Jesus. In a steady and faithful progression to become more and more like Jesus, we can be confident that He who began a good work in us will continue it until it is finally finished on the day when He returns.
As God’s work in our lives continues, and as we grow more to be like Jesus, our knowledge, discernment, and other fruits of righteousness should also grow (vs. 9-11). As Jesus increases in us, and as we grow and mature as Christians, His loving nature should intensify within us. We should have a growing love for God, that includes knowledge and insight. This would include spiritual discernment to avoid false teachings (vs. 9).
We also need moral discernment to maintain our Christian morals and values, to differentiate between right and wrong, good and bad, and vital and trivial (vs. 10). We need to discern the things that are excellent, things that really matter. We need to distinguish the vital and worthwhile things in life from those that are not. Paul also encourages us to live our lives without offense, having nothing in our life that would give cause for someone to stumble.
In closing, we need to remember that though our parents, teachers, spouse, family, and so-called friends may give up on us, God never will. He has a purpose in view when we were saved, and that purpose will neither be abandoned nor unrealized. God is always faithful to finish what He begins.
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