As I’ve gotten older in my faith, I fight a constant battle. It’s sometimes a subtle one but a battle nonetheless. It’s a battle of “I know this” vs “I ought to know better.” I also fight a battle between “I’ve read this (been there done that) vs “How come I keep stumbling?” In a sense, the “I ought to know better” and the “How can I keep stumbling?” is good. It shows me I have not arrived. There should no feeling of satisfaction that creeps in. What should be there is the belief, the reality, that I’m still under construction. God is still working on me and in me. To borrow Tripp’s words:
I serve a dissatisfied Redeemer.
God never wants me to feel satisfied. Not in contentment with Him but in “I’ve arrived.” God will not be satisfied until I’m molded (or is that remolded?) into His image. His desire is that I pursue Him. That I not chase other lovers.
I’ll never arrive here on earth. I’ll never come to the point of complete sanctification. No matter what some of the other church groups say, perfectionism (no sin) is not attainable. Until the day it happens (my last breath or heaven), I must pursue God with passion.
“Father, may passion mark my pursuit of you. The point of perfection, the point of complete sanctification, will never happen here. Pursuing other lovers is not the answer. There’s an old song that said, ‘I only have eyes for you.’ True, it was a love song. But may the words to that love song be words which fall from my lips for you.”
We are most definitely works in progress, Bill. And may we only have eyes for the Lord!
Blessings!
I am continually reminded by my imperfection. Perhaps it is a thought, a look, an attitude, a motive, a desire, etc…
The on thing I know is that I have not arrived.
The other thing I know is that there are times where I am not working to get better. I simply am living as if I have arrived. I am not striving to grow, simply not get worse.
God is not satisfied, but he is also not disappointed. He is a craftsman that is working our the blemishes, the flaws, the imperfections of His creation.
He knows it is a work in progress… and he knows it will take time… and he Loves me as much now as He will when he is complete as he did when He first started his work in me.
For this I am thankful… Thankful he loves me enough not to take his eyes and his masterful hands away from me.