Progress vs. Completion

 

We have become accustomed to process.  Healing, growth, change; these things take time.  Progress is made step-by-step. We are taught to celebrate progress, not wait for completion or perfection. When we are overwhelmed by how much remains to be accomplished or changed, we are encouraged by looking aback on how far we have come. Transformation, restoration, redemption; all of these are processes, they take time.

Scripture is full of promise and encouragement for process. But process is not the only way changes are realized.  There are “suddenlies” in scripture too! There are times when God brought about dramatic change in a moment of time, when Jesus healed or delivered in an instant.

This is one of the many places where there is tension in scripture. There are ideas, values and truths that seem to be in contradiction. Consider the tension between these verses:

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.        Philippians 1:6

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  2 Corinthians 5:17

In Philippians Paul emphasizes process and God’s faithfulness to complete in us, the work that He has begun.  Yet in his letter to the Christians in Corinth, Paul assures them that transformation took place when they placed their faith in Jesus. In this and the surrounding verses Paul is quite clear that the way we are known and the way we know Jesus has changed, it is completely different and new.  It is a completed work!

Or consider the nearly unfathomable claim of 1John 4:17 where it says that as Christians we are now like Christ. John teaches that love has been perfected in us, through Jesus, so that we are in full confidence, without fear in the face of judgement; just as Jesus Himself is.  And yet it is described in 2Corinthians 3:18 as a process of continual transformation.  We are transformed into the image of Christ, from glory to glory. In one verse it is described as a finished work.  In another it is a gradual process.

Both are true.  There is tension, and balance is the key.  Like a pendulum that swings from one side to the other, there are extremes on either side, but many places of balance in the middle. To me it seems that there are risks associated with the extremes, even within this topic of process vs. finished work.

As Christians we know that some things are a one-time event or decision. Salvation is a perfect example. We are “saved” by the grace of God the moment we put our faith and trust in the God who loves us and receives us through the purity of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. Our salvation is secure and we don’t need to be continually saved.  We also know that we grow and mature as Christians.  Romans 12:2, Hebrews 6:1 and Colossians 1:9-10 are some of the more well-known verses that speak to the process of becoming mature in our faith.  

The word that Paul uses in Romans 12:2 is transformation and it is the same root word as metamorphosis.  He says that we are being “transformed”, or metamorphosized into a new creation, by the renewal of our mind. This is another example of the tension present within truths presented in the scripture.  Salvation is a completed work and yet there is also a growth process, called sanctification, where we mature and grow in our alignment with Christ.

There are risks associated with the extremes:

If we overemphasize process and forget that God is faithful to complete His work in us, we could be vulnerable to discouragement. It is important to celebrate what God is doing and the ways that we have grown and changed.  Sometimes people are hesitant to give a testimony of what God has done in their lives until it is complete.  If we are continually focused on all that remains unfinished, we may begin to question the faithfulness and power of God to fulfill His promises to us.

But if we overemphasize the completed work, we can miss the goodness of God in the process. God meets us in the process of growth and we experience His love and goodness.  It is the joy of the Lord after all that is our strength!  (Nehemiah 8:10) We need strength to get through the process into His promise. If we postpone our expectation of experiencing the goodness of God until the promise is fulfilled, we may never get there!

The truth is that many things in our spiritual walk will take time and have steps of growth, gain and even set-backs. There is grace for the process and we are strengthened as we go.  It is critical that we learn to access hope and encouragement for the process.  But it is equally critical that we anticipate and recognize the victories God is giving us, the battles that have been won in us.  These completed works are meant to fuel our faith and hope as we continue to grow. 

Growth is a process, it takes time. But God is faithful to complete in us all that He has begun. We are meant to enjoy the process and also celebrate the victory!