Philippians 1:6, 9-11 (NLT)
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. … I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
Reflection
There are several points to be made from this reading.
God started the good work in you and God will finish it! In other words, while we do need to cooperate with God (make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit) as we grow in Christlikness throughout our lives, God is the one doing the work.
Perfection does not occur all at once. It continues to come over your lifetime as a Christian as we “keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.”
The fruit of our salvation is the righteous character produced in our lives by Jesus Christ.
The result of all of this is that our “going on…” will bring much glory and praise to God. Because of what God has done for us, is that not a reason by itself to keep “growing?”
