“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.” Philippians 1:6 NLT
In a story published by Chicago 5 News on Monday titled, “3 Years After Stroke, Runner Hopes to Finally Compete in Chicago Marathon He Was Forced to Miss,” the following was reported: A California man was just a day away from competing in the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon when he suffered a stroke, and now, he's hoping to finish what he started when the race gets underway Sunday. Jason DePetris had flown into Chicago from Long Beach, California just before the race in 2019. He went to pick up his marathon race packet and was having breakfast the morning before the race, when he dropped his fork and the side of his face started drooping. Thankfully Jason got immediate medical treatment and survived. He later learned that his stroke was caused by a brain aneurysm and is now running the marathon to fundraise for the Brain Injury Recovery Foundation. DePetris, the writer said, “is eager to cross that finish line, even if it’s three years later than planned.”
And you know, when it comes to God finishing what He started, Paul told the church at Philippi that he was “certain that God, who began the good work within them “would continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Do you just love that or what? God is a worker who always completes His work which means that we are continually being made more like Christ each and every day, with the last touches being put on when we cross that final finish line. Seeing Christ as the end goal, then, is what every faithful Christian should be doing, seeking to grow in godliness until the day we die or Jesus returns.
So let us remember that we are all a work in progress my friend. Let us refuse to stay unchanged as we allow God to do the sanctifying work in us that began when we accepted Jesus as our Savior. Let us live our lives in full cooperation with God, as we present our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice so that we may achieve spiritual maturity in this life and, in the ages to come, receive our glorified bodies and rich rewards.
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that You are continually building us up to be more like You and that the work will not be completed until we are with You. Thank You for not allowing us to remain unchanged. May the cry of every believer be, “Lord do whatever it takes to make me more like You.” It’s in your holy name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
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