Incomplete

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

You and I live between the “already” and the “not yet.”

Already God has set his plan of grace in motion. Already the prophets have spoken. Already Jesus has come. Already he has suffered and died. Already he has risen in victory from the tomb. Already the Spirit has come. Already the Word has been given.

But not yet is God’s work in the world finished. Not yet is his work in our hearts done. Not yet is the last enemy under his feet. Not yet is he ready to say: “Beloved, all things are now ready. Enter into my final kingdom.”

Between the trials of the
already
and the glories of the
not yet
I so deeply wish
that I could be
sin free:
no evil in my heart
no evil in my desires
no evils in my intentions
no evil in my decisions
no evil in my words
no evil in my actions
idol free
temptation resistant
righteous in every way
pure of heart
circumspect
godward
holy.
But sadly,
right here
right now,
in my heart
in my actions
reactions and
responses
that is not who
I am.

So my hope is not in my
wisdom
strength
righteousness
steadfastness
obedience
but
in your patient
rescuing
forgiving and
transforming
grace.
You are what I
need
and you supply everything I
need.
You are my
hope
life
security
and
redemption.

I can’t imagine
what it would be to be
without you
and without hope
in this sad and
dysfunctional world.

We are right smack dab in the middle of the world’s most important incomplete process—sanctification.

None of us is yet what grace makes it possible for us to be. The battle with sin and temptation still goes on. The war for what will effectively and functionally rule our hearts still rages. We are not yet even near being blameless in and of ourselves.

No, the reality is that between the already and the not yet of God’s transforming process, we are all a bit of a mess. We still fall into temptation. We still give way to wrong thoughts and desires. We still say things that we should never say. We still behave in ways that expose the sin that is still in our hearts.

So there is simply no way our personal security can be found in ourselves. Peace is not found in the degree of our faithfulness to God, but in the utterly unshakable nature of his faithfulness to the commitment of grace he has made to us.

He never regrets his promises. He never grows bored or weary. He doesn’t get mad with us and debate with himself as to whether he should walk away. He never lounges through a lazy, self-centered day. He never withdraws his commitment to us because he has his eye on another. He never makes a promise he doesn’t intend to keep.

His love isn’t a passing fancy. He never threatens to withdraw his love in order to get his own way. He never keeps a record of wrongs against us so that he can use it to get something from us that he wants. He is never disloyal behind our backs. He is completely faithful in the fullest sense of what that means.

And here’s what is important to understand. His faithfulness is not a demonstration of how well you’re doing; no, it’s a revelation of how completely holy, righteous, kind, and good he is.

He remains faithful even on your most unfaithful day.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

A Prayer for Today: Father, your goodness and graciousness in my life is something that I quite often fail to see. Thank you that even though my faithfulness to you wavers and wobbles, yours toward me is unshakable and permanent. I am so grateful for your complete faithfulness to me even when I doubt it. Help me to trust you in all circumstances, good, bad, or in between. I need you to help me trust you. Would you help me? In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Conversation Prompts for Children

• What do you think it means to be faithful? Are only people faithful or is God faithful too? In what ways have you seen God be faithful to you and your family/friends? Take some time to name them specifically.
• Do you think God will ever get frustrated and angry with us and want to walk away from us? Why or why not? How can we know how God feels about us?
• How do you think God works and moves in our lives to change us and make us more like his son, Jesus? Why is that even important?

Reflection Questions

1. When you think about living in between the already and the not yet, what can help you gain a healthy perspective on how that looks daily as a follower of Jesus? What are some disciplines you can personally implement into your life that can help you move toward that healthy perspective?

2. When it comes to faithfulness, why is it so essential to understand that God is not like us? What specific reminders do you need to purposefully place in front of you to remember that God will always be faithful to you regardless of your faithfulness to him?

3. In what ways are you still placing your security in yourself and your own devotion to God? Why can’t we find true peace based on our commitment to God? Where is true peace found as you think about the Lord’s unwavering faithfulness to you? How is his faithfulness to you impacting the way you live daily? If it isn’t, what steps can you take to shift your heart toward the truth of his faithfulness to you?