Completion

Last month, I ended with this quote: “He who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) I want to pick that thread up this month. Will God complete the work begun in us? How is that possible? If the goal is to become perfect in love so that everything we do is informed by our love for Jesus and neighbor, can it even happen? After all, Jesus said, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) If that’s what Paul meant, and I expect it was, how is it possible?

My answer might seem like it’s skipping past the question, but I promise it isn’t! The short answer is what Jesus said to his disciples when he said that it would be harder for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. When they asked how anyone could be saved, he said, “with human beings, it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26) In other words, we must make sure the subject of the quote (He = God) is the actor, and we are the ones being acted on – we won’t make ourselves perfect or finish the work, but God will accomplish it.

As for how – I can’t answer how God brings us to perfection, because it is a mystery, but this much I do know – God works both in us and through us. We bring our best (or even our least) to the table, and God completes it. Our participation and willingness is required, but it isn’t enough. No matter how hard we try, we cannot become perfect. The answer is not that we should stop all trying, but that we should rely on God for what we cannot do.

Several years ago, I realized what this meant for me, and I want to share my insight with you: I realized that I could solve some of the problems I was facing alone, but other problems required help, or another set of eyes. So, I began leaning more heavily on Pastor Tommy, our lay leaders, or other staff members. I call it the “group” test – is this issue bigger than me? If so, I need to loop other people in. If the problem is smaller, then I need to take it on my own to fix or resolve. In the end, however, nearly every issue requires both individual and group help.

How this applies is straightforward. We know there are things we have to do alone, and there are things we can’t do alone, and there are also things we can do alone, but it would be better to have help. We can pray alone, worship alone, read alone, and serve alone. In fact, we should do these things on our own. However, all of them are stronger and we grow more if we do them with other people. Why is that? Because when we work together, serve together, worship together, and study together, it is like being in a hothouse versus being alone in a field – the effect is that we grow faster and stronger, so that on those days when we are alone, we are also pulling from the strength of others. More than that – living our spiritual lives and practicing spiritual disciplines with other people helps us to grow in love specifically. It isn’t a great challenge to love humanity, but it is a great challenge to love people with whom we disagree or who challenge us. In the same way, it isn’t hard to keep doing what we’ve always done, but when other people are around, we realize our capacity to love and grow has to be expanded.

So – God grows us in love by helping us take responsibility for ourselves and helping us love other people. Discipleship isn’t a solitary affair, nor is it something we can let others do for us. After all, what are we preparing for? A life with God and neighbor! Again, our efforts will never be enough, but by being part of the church, the body of Christ, we can begin to see how God works in and through us and we can have faith that God will complete the work in us when the time comes!