Mid-Week Message - Under Construction

"Beloved, we are [even here and] now children of God, and it is not yet made clear what we will be [after His coming]. We know that when He comes and is revealed, we will [as His children] be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is [in all His glory]."  1 John 3:2 (AMP)

In 1976 there was a nationwide campaign sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ.  Billboards went up with only the words "I FOUND IT" and stayed up for sometime before the campaign blossomed.  Students in churches, youth groups and student led Bible studies in schools participated in this time to introduce non-believers to the love and salvation of Jesus Christ.  As a participant, I attended prayer gatherings to ask God's blessing on our efforts and made phone calls to other students who had expressed an interest in finding out what had been found.

As part of the campaign, those taking part wore pins with the letters PBPGINFWMY which stood for "Please be patient.  God is not finished with me yet." The pins prompted questions which opened the door for discussion about Jesus.  They also reminded each of us that none of us were perfect and that we needed to keep our attitudes in check so as not to appear that we were better than anyone we spoke to.  We simply had found the answer and accepted the love of the Lord personally.

Last week I was sitting in a parking lot of a shopping center in which one store was being renovated for a new business.  All of the former facade had been taken down and the building was back to a concrete shell.  All traces of the former inhabitant had been erased and the outside had become a blank slate, ready to be associated with something brand new.  As I pondered what I was seeing, it occurred to me that we as Christians are going through the same process.  

We were created with free will and to me that says that God wants for us to choose Him of our own volition.  He could have pre-programmed us to automatically turn to Him, but instead He gave us the option of choosing whatever we wanted in this life.  Although evidence of a Divine Creator is everywhere we turn, many do opt to reject it and select a path that leads to a false god or no god at all.  Those of us that do turn to Him are being transformed into the image of His Son Jesus and one day we will be like Him.  

We are on the path to meet our Savior.  Our time on this planet will end eventually. While we are here, we are to share the Good News and love those around us.  However we are still sinners and need to remain humble as we encounter others who have made different choices.  Never are we to act haughty about being Christians but we are to share His love and how He can change lives from our hearts being honest about our own stories and the difference He has made in our lives. I am blessed to be His child.  I assure you though that I have to make the choice each and every day to follow Him.  So, please be patient with me.  God is not finished with me yet, but one day, when I meet Him, when WE meet Him face to face, we shall be like Him.  Praise the Lord!