just the beginning
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7 1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, … 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-4, 7
Do you remember when you came to Jesus Christ for salvation? That was the time when it all began for you. When God forgives us and wipes the slate clean at our conversion, He begins a process called sanctification. This is the real work that He wants to do in us. This is why He forgave us.
The apostle Paul described the beginning of the process in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
God wants to change us to the point where we see Christ when we look at our lives—the same way we see our physical selves by looking in a mirror. He is transforming us one step at a time. Every little opportunity to display His glory, every little bump in the road of life, equals an opportunity to change.
What does that look like? Here’s a place to start: Is the fruit of His Spirit becoming more obvious in your attitude? Are you more loving, more patient, more self-controlled? Is prayer a more natural conversation between you and the Lord? Do you die more quickly to yourself? Do you obey His Word unconditionally? In small and large ways, is your life being replaced by the life and character of Jesus? If this is not happening, you’ve got to ask yourself, “Have I really asked God to be my Lord? He might be your Saviour, but not your Master yet.
God didn’t drop down into your life, forgive you, save you, and move on to someone else. He came to stay. He started something, and He’s not stopping it until the very last day that you’re on this earth. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
—James MacDonald
responding What fruit of God’s Spirit do I see developing in me? (See Galatians 5:22-23) Do others see me changing?
following Conversion is the miracle of a moment; becoming like Christ is the work of a lifetime.
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