Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Work out your Salvation - 3

"…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12-13)

The phrase I want to focus on today from the above text is "... your own salvation…" It would have been very easy for the Philippi Church to look at the Apostle Paul and think "wow, what a legend that guy is ... I can never be like him!" And they would be right, He was a seasoned veteran in the Way but they were not called to target the image of Paul. They were commissioned to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus.

As we examine this phrase "your own salvation" two thoughts come to mind. One, we should not measure ourselves by the life or standard of other people. Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith, the book of Hebrews 12:2 says. So we must keep our eyes upon Jesus. He is the lighthouse that will guide us safely home, so to speak.

Two, even though we all have been given the same salvation through the atonement of Christ, the development of that salvation will be different for each one of us. Our journey will look different at times and in many ways. We need to be OK with that. And, we can be if we trust God for the end result in each other's life. God is creative, unique, and infinite. He will fashion a plan that is unique to each and everyone of us. The important part is following His lead and not to judging the progress of others.

We are commanded to be "perfect" in the Bible (Matt. 5:48; 2 Cor. 13:11, etc). The word means in the original language of the Bible "to be right where God wants you to be." How refreshing to know that God has YOU right where He wants you for today. I may not be where you are in my maturation process and most likely you are not where I am. But that's OK if we are both in relationship with Jesus and fully surrendered to His leading and daily work in our lives. So, are you perfect today?

Thanks for stopping by!

------
Adrian

5 comments:

  1. Sometimes we look at our brothers and sisters in the Lord and we evaluate their spirituality based on our opinion of what that looks like and means. We forget this wonderful truth that God works ALL things together for GOOD in the lives of those who love him. We forget that God is right in the middle of it, perfecting His will and purpose in what can look like a mess to us... This is true in our own lives. When things appear to be going poorly, or not the way that we had planned, we can forget that God is at work and that, as we walk through it with our Savior, He will accomplish what he desires to accomplish in OUR mess. Most Christians I know think it is bold or conceited to say that we can be perfect....that this is a standard too high for anyone to meet. I like your "take" on what that means...Maybe we should believe that WHATEVER is happening, we are right where God wants us to be, and then trust HIM to walk us out...?

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  2. A perfect Christian is one who walks in the light provided to them.

    There is no revelation unless Jesus opens the mind.
    John 6:43-45 (The Message) Jesus said, "Don't bicker among yourselves over me. You're not in charge here. The Father who sent me is in charge. He draws people to me—that's the only way you'll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End. This is what the prophets meant when they wrote, 'And then they will all be personally taught by God.' Anyone who has spent any time at all listening to the Father, really listening and therefore learning, comes to me to be taught personally—to see it with his own eyes, hear it with his own ears, from me, since I have it firsthand from the Father. No one has seen the Father except the One who has his Being alongside the Father—and you can see me.

    For me to say "your faith should look like this or that" is to say Jesus has not done something in you He should have. I'm not going to tell Him that and I’m not going to tell you that either. All I can do is share the story of what He has done for me or revealed to me. It’s Jesus’ job to decide if it has value in your life as you walk in the light He provides for you.

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  3. the primate is wise!

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  5. If only his knuckles didn't drag!

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