God Set Up Life So No One Bats a Thousand
Process Matters to God; Not Just Results
Have you ever wondered why God didn’t immediately make us perfectly like Jesus the moment we received Him as our Savior and Source? He has the power to do it. At some point it will happen.
We Will Be Like Jesus
1 John 3:2: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”
Philippians 3:21: “(Jesus) will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
Right now Jesus has the power to transform our physical bodies into conformity with His glorified body, simply by exerting that power. He’s not growing in power; He has the power this very instant to subject all things to Himself.
When we finally see Jesus, simply seeing Him will make us like Him because we’ll see Him just as He is. It’s going to happen. So why not now? Why do we have to deal with our imperfections and failures as well as everyone else’s mess-ups?
All the pain, stress, ugliness, and horror of our sins and weaknesses will one day be eradicated. I don’t have all the answers, but let me give one and then follow it up with the purpose realization that follows it.
It’s simply this:
God Likes The Process of Growth and Development
He is concerned with the end result, but He set up life so that growth and change matter. The creation of the earth as we now know it went through growth phases.
Genesis 1:1–2 “(1) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (2) The earth was formless and void (waste and emptiness), and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving (hovering) over the surface of the waters. (3) Then God said, “Let there be light, and there was light… Verse 6: “God said, and the “firmament, the expanse separating the heavens from the earth” was added.
So we’ve already seen several growth phases in the creation of the earth.
- Created by God, it came into existence.
- Formless and void or a waste and emptiness with darkness.
- God spoke light into existence.
God then kept adding by speaking and then developing and placing in plants, animals, and humans the ability to grow, multiply, and create new life.
Although God has the power to create everything in an instant, from the beginning He chose to do it using a growth process.
Growth and Change Means Transformation
Jesus often said things like, “the kingdom of heaven is like….seeds, soil, plants, fruit that grow.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 says we are being transformed from glory to glory into the image of Jesus, by the Spirit as we behold Him.
Romans 12:2 says we are being transformed by the renewing of our minds.
He is the God of the process of growth and transformation. That means God is good with our lack and failures as long as we keep on believing in Him and desire to do His will.
God knows the process. He knows the sin and areas of our lives that need renewal and transformation, and He knows that we are growing from spiritual infancy, to children, to young adults, to adults, to parents, to grandparents.
He knows that because He designed the world that way. God knows that none of us will bat a thousand. We will sin a lot, even after receiving the gift of eternal life.
God knows how deeply various aspects of sin and sin strongholds have been rooted into our emotions, thinking, and will. And although He hates sin because it is so destructive and so contrary to His light and love nature, He is good with you practicing your faith, stumbling, and failing.
But you are learning and developing as you keep pressing on. He is proud of you. Most of the world isn’t putting Him first and isn’t trying to follow Jesus and fulfill His purposes. The number of those who are keeps growing, and in some places it is a remarkable number, but so many aren’t committed to following Him. But you are.
We were never perfect enough to earn eternal life and never will be. That is why it is a gift of God’s grace, received simply by believing in Jesus.
So, please don’t let discouragement or condemnation settle on your soul. In Christ, you come to God in Jesus’ own holiness and righteousness. On earth, God knows you are growing and is proud of you taking your growth seriously.
If you want more resources on how to grow and change through Biblical principles and practices, head over to www.TruVineMission.com
If you are at a point in your life where you need a Purpose Reboot, clarifying God’s purpose for you at this stage in your life check out www.MarkFurlongCoaching.com
