“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 1:6)
Thoughts… I really love this verse—it is one of my favorites. You probably love it, too. If you don’t, just think deeply about it for a while and I have no doubt that you will add it to your list of best Bible verses.
So why is this such a fantastic verse? Simply this: God always completes what he begins. He never starts a project without bringing it to a successful close. That includes you—you are one of his favorite projects. And what God began in you when you committed your life to his Son, He, himself, has promised to see that it comes to a glorious conclusion. He completes you!
Several years ago a popular movie called Jerry McGuire came out, and in it was a line that became quite famous and oft quoted. Depending on your perspective, the line was either really sappy—that’s what the guys thought, or incredibly romantic—or so the ladies thought. The line came toward the end of the movie when Jerry, who had been struggling to express his love to his wife, walked into a room full of women and boldly declared to her, “You complete me.”
Sorry to take you down movie lane, but Jerry’s lame line was really stolen from the Bible. But in the Bible, that line is not lame, it’s powerful. In fact, next to God saying to you, “I love you” and “you are forgiven”, you saying to God, “you complete me!” is the best line in the story of human redemption:
God has promised to complete you. And since God doesn’t lie, since He has never broken a promise, since He has never abandoned one of his projects, the truth of this verse should be your source for inexhaustible joy, unshakeable confidence, indefatigable energy and inexpressible gratitude. Likewise, knowing that God will complete you ought to neutralize chronic sadness, vaporize whatever insecurities you may have, and motivate you to get off your duff of inferiority and unworthiness and get on board with the work that God is already doing in you.
Michelangelo, the great Italian Renaissance artist, once said, “Do not fret, for God did not create us to abandon us.” Michelangelo knew something about starting and finishing works of art, wouldn’t you say?
God leaves no work unfinished. The God who saved you, and who began a good work in you, will complete you!
Prayer… Lord, you give me joy unspeakable and full of glory. You have saved me from my sin and given me eternal life. You began a work in me, and you have promised to complete it. What you begin, you finish! I was a mess when you found me, and I still mess it up from time to time, but you are turning me into a masterpiece for your glory. What more can I say except “thank you!”
One More Thing… “By a Carpenter mankind was made, and only by that Carpenter can mankind be remade.” —Erasmus Desiderius
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