1-28-21 Progress Now, Perfection Later

Philippians 3:12 - Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 

I would be willing to bet that you have never done anything in your life with absolute perfection. Of course not! For example, if you're a good student, you must admit that you've never completed an assignment with no room for improvement. Even when you received the highest grade on your paper or test, it was hardly a measure of absolute perfection! 

The same can be found in the moral and spiritual realm. Brothers and sisters who know and appreciate God's perfect righteousness and holiness will be the first people to say that they have fallen short of perfection. To believe otherwise tells me that we have adopted a low view of God's law or a distorted perspective of God's definition of sin. 

In Philippians 3, the apostle Paul states that he had not become perfect in this life (v12). Paul confesses that he was far from perfection. He referred to himself as the "chief of sinners." However, Notice Paul didn't give up pursuing more. In verses 12 and 13 of that same chapter, he tells us that he continued to press forward and expected to make progress. He looked forward to that day when he would receive his perfection, but that day was still in the future when he would be with the Lord. 

Others take the approach that because we can't attain perfection in this life, we should throw in the towel and give up. They despair over sin and stop trying. Of course, the mature attitude is for us to do our best and encourage others to do the same. That's, it seems to me, is exactly what we are exhorted to do in Philippians 3:15. "All of us who are mature (the word `perfect' here means `mature') should take such a view of things." What view of things? Progress now, perfection later! 

Pride would say things like, "Look how great I am at ________ (you can fill in the blank)!" Despair, on the other hand, says, "Look how badly I ___________." Both attitudes (pride and despair) put the focus squarely on us. It becomes a form of idolatry and a building of monuments for self-worship. Both pride and despair come from the same root – our desire for a self-generated perfection. Perfection will come, it has been promised, but for today, we seek progress.

I know that when you care deeply about ministry or a task that God has called you to do and you feel you are not executing to the best of your ability, it hurts. I feel like this often. My life of prayer can often bring about this very pain. "If only I was better at ___________." " If only I were more faithful at ______________." It helps to remember that God cares about only progress in every facet of this life now. He has already granted me perfection in the next.

"Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained." Philippians 3:15-16

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