"A WORK IN PROGRESS"
"He who began a good work in you will carry it unto completion. (Philippians 1:6)
Years ago, on one of my husband's and my many trips to Ruidoso, New Mexico, I watched a chainsaw-wielding artist carve a five-foot bear from the trunk of a fallen Ponderosa pine. Amazed as the work progressed, I asked, "How in the world did you learn to do that?" The man, standing in a pile of wood shavings, smiled and said, "I just carve away anything that doesn't look like a bear."
I was reminded of that encounter recently when I read the opening words of Paul's letter to the Philippians. "He who began a good work in you will carry it unto completion." Another often-quoted phrase quickly followed. "God's not finished with me yet." I have to confess that I am sometimes put off by those words, a statement which has become — Don't you think?— a bit of a cliche. It seems to me that the words are too often used to rationalize behaviors and attitudes that are insensitive or hurtful.
But if we embrace Paul's point of view and attitude toward one another, we would all be more compassionate and understanding. Of a husband who disappoints. Of a parent who falls short. Of a teen who betrays. "God is still completing his work. Our Creator is carving away all that is unlike Jesus, his Son."
Holy Spirit, when I am critical or judgmental or wounded, remind me that your work in those near to me is incomplete. And, please, Lord, remind them of the same about me when I'm stumbling my way through life's crosswinds.
Years ago, on one of my husband's and my many trips to Ruidoso, New Mexico, I watched a chainsaw-wielding artist carve a five-foot bear from the trunk of a fallen Ponderosa pine. Amazed as the work progressed, I asked, "How in the world did you learn to do that?" The man, standing in a pile of wood shavings, smiled and said, "I just carve away anything that doesn't look like a bear."
I was reminded of that encounter recently when I read the opening words of Paul's letter to the Philippians. "He who began a good work in you will carry it unto completion." Another often-quoted phrase quickly followed. "God's not finished with me yet." I have to confess that I am sometimes put off by those words, a statement which has become — Don't you think?— a bit of a cliche. It seems to me that the words are too often used to rationalize behaviors and attitudes that are insensitive or hurtful.
But if we embrace Paul's point of view and attitude toward one another, we would all be more compassionate and understanding. Of a husband who disappoints. Of a parent who falls short. Of a teen who betrays. "God is still completing his work. Our Creator is carving away all that is unlike Jesus, his Son."
Holy Spirit, when I am critical or judgmental or wounded, remind me that your work in those near to me is incomplete. And, please, Lord, remind them of the same about me when I'm stumbling my way through life's crosswinds.
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