The Long Work of Grace
Well bless your heart, friend, step right up on this ol’ front porch and make yourself right at home. If your day has been twistin’ and turnin’ like a lil’ o’ calf tryin’ to outrun its own shadow, you’re in the right place. I’m mighty glad you stopped by. Let’s settle into these rockers, listen to the cicadas hum their afternoon hymn, and git to lettin’ God’s Word speak to us with the kind of steady truth that holds mighty firm even when life feels wobblier than an ol’ turkey gobbler that wandered too close to a trampoline. Galatians 4:19 says, “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.” That there verse stands real tall beside Philippians 1:6n which says, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion,” and together them verses downright remind us that spiritual growth is slow, sacred, and shaped by God’s patient hands.
Friend, we live in a world that wants everything faster than a rabbit that spotted a hungry lil’ fox. Packages show up the same day, answers pop up on our phones before we finish askin’ the question, and supper can be microwaved quicker than a lil’ ol’ rooster can crow. But the soul just don’t git to growin’ at digital speed. It grows real slow, steady, and sometimes painfully, like a tree that pushes through rocky soil one stubborn inch at a time.
Paul told the Galatians he was laborin’ for Christ to be formed in them. That’s not a quick process. It’s the holy shapin’ of our hearts until our lives look more like Jesus than like our old selves. And just like you can tell what a person is like when you spend some time with ‘em, folks ought to be able to tell that we sho’-nuff’ belong to Christ by the way we walk, talk, forgive, and love.
To deepen this truth, Colossians 2:7 says, “Let your roots grow down into Him and let your lives be built on Him.” That verse fits this message like an ol’ barn cat that finally found the warmest patch of sunlight. Christ ain’t been formed in us by no kind of accident. He’s formed as our roots git to sinkin’ deeper into Him, as our choices git to reflectin’ His heart, and as our actions git to revealin’ His character.
Spiritual maturity ain’t just knowin’ the right things. It’s puttin’ those things into action. It’s livin’ in such a way that others can see Jesus in us, even when life feels as chaotic as an ol’ goat that discovered a loose porch board.
Father, shape us slowly and faithfully until Christ is formed in us. Help our roots grow deep in You. Give us patience with the process and courage to live out what we know. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Well friend, looks like the porch boards have done all the talkin’ they can for today, so you go on now and let the good Lord steady your steps as you head back into that wide, wonderful world. Be lettin’ your faith git to growin’ real steady like a cedar tree that stands tall through every season. Be makin’ sure that your hope keeps right on shinin’ bright like lil’ fireflies dancin’ over a summer field. Be lettin’ your patience stretch real wide like a river that refuses to git to rushin’. And be makin’ might sure that your life shows Jesus so clearly that other folks can’t help but be noticin’. Now go and do what you can to make the world a little more like Him.
With joy,
Gwen
