“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, second edition)
It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a
full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of
the Spirit. The development of Christ-like character cannot be rushed.
Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time.
Billy Graham associate Lane Adams once compared the process
of spiritual growth to the strategy the Allies used in World War II to liberate
islands in the South Pacific. First they would “soften up” an island, weakening
the resistance by shelling the enemy strongholds with bombs from offshore
ships.
Next, a small group of Marines would invade the island and
establish a “beachhead”—a tiny fragment of the island that they could control.
Once the beachhead was secured, they would begin the long process of liberating
the rest of the island, one bit of territory at a time.
Eventually the entire island would be brought under
control, but not without some costly battles.
Adams drew this parallel: Before Christ invades our lives
at conversion, he sometimes has to “soften us up” by allowing problems we can’t
handle. While some open their lives to Christ the first time he knocks on the
door, most of us are resistant and defensive. Our pre-conversion experience is
Jesus saying, “Behold! I stand at the door and bomb!”
The moment you open yourself to Christ, God gets a
“beachhead” in your life. You may think you have surrendered all your life to
him, but the truth is, there’s a lot to your life that you aren’t even aware
of. You can only give God as much of you as you understand at that moment.
That’s okay.
Once Christ is given a beachhead, he begins the campaign to
take over more and more territory until all of your life is completely his.
There will be struggles and battles, but the outcome will never be in doubt.
God has promised that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on
to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6 NIV).
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