A Work In Progress

Dear Friends,

We are in the middle of having a new conservatory built.  The builders took down our old one which was small and not fit for purpose in order to build a bigger one, to give us extra living space and which can be enjoyed all year round due to a particular type of glass they are using which stops the room from being too hot in the summer and keeps it warm in the winter.  I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product, but it is taking so much longer than I’d expected.  A lot of time was spent on preparing for it, digging the foundations and other work to make it stable, so to begin with there wasn’t much to show for the hours that had gone into it.  The noise, the mess, the inconvenience will all, I’m sure, be worth it in the end. There’s not much I can do about it as I know nothing about building and so I have to leave it up to the experts and trust they know exactly what they are doing.

This work reminds me of the work that Jesus is doing in my life.  “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”  2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)

My old way of living, following my own desires, my own will, living to please myself is gone, just like our old conservatory, and I have a new life, which like the new conservatory, is so much better than my old life. 

 

God gives us new life, but there’s still a lot of work he needs to do on us to perfect that new life.  It can feel like it’s taking a lot longer than we think it should as he removes things from our lives that shouldn’t be there – selfishness, pride, anger, lust, envy, bitterness etc., and replaces it with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control.  (Galatians 5:19-23)

A lot of the work God does in our lives is unseen, it goes on within us, he transforms us from within to make us more like his son, Jesus Christ, and as we submit to his working, then it begins to be noticeable to those around us, perhaps the way we speak becomes more loving, we don’t engage in gossip, we respond in a self-controlled way when someone deliberately tries to rile and provoke us.  We are at peace despite our troublesome circumstances.  We live, act and speak differently.

Just as I place my trust in the workmen who are qualified to build the conservatory, we need to place our trust in God who is working in us, he knows exactly what he is doing, he knows which part of us needs work on first, he works in his time, he knows exactly what we can withstand, he doesn’t rush the process.  Neither does he do a cover-up job, working on the surface; he always goes to the heart of the matter.  And always, always, always it is for our good and for his glory.  The hard part for us is to trust him and to say to him, “Ok, God, have your way, I’m placing myself in your care.”  Knowing that it will all be worth it in the end.

God is working on us, making us fit for purpose and it’s a unique work that he is doing in each of our lives, his work is not a one size fits all; he doesn’t use the same mould for us all. Therefore, there is no need to compare ourselves with each other, he has a particular work for you to do that only you can do, and he has a particular work for me that only I can do.

Like I said, this new life that God gives us is so much better than the one we had before, now we know what it is to have a restored relationship with God and all that comes with it, we have a hope, a peace, a joy, we realise that there is meaning to our life, that we have a purpose.

To Think About:

Compare your new life in Christ with that of your old life.  Can you see a difference?  Do those around you notice a difference?

What area of your life is it that God wants to work on right now?  Are you allowing him to have his way even though it may be inconvenient and the progress feels slow?

Is there something from your old life that you’ve been holding onto but you think God may now be telling you to let go of?