My son Christos was quick as a child. He went to sleep quickly, he got up and got dressed quickly… he was an on-the-go kid. We would be at a stop light, and as soon as the light turned green, he’d say, “dad, let’s go.” On a trip, he mastered the art of the question every child asks, “are we there yet?”
In our walk with the Lord, we are not there, yet. The word teaches us that we haven’t arrived or already been made perfect. (Philippians 3:11-14). When the Apostle Paul wrote those words, he used the imagery of a runner in a race. He used words like “press on” and “toward the prize.” Therefore, we can conclude that there are two phases of “getting there.”
We are going to get “there” both in our maturity in Christ and our final destination.
Piano virtuosos don’t stop practicing to become better skilled, athletes don’t stop practicing to become better skilled, doctors don’t stop studying to become better skilled; and the child of God continues to “press on” in becoming more formed into the image of Christ.
God didn’t call us into salvation to sit and wait “until we get there.” Peter urges the follower of Christ to “give diligence” to our walk with the Lord, to cultivate virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love; in order that we may be more fruitful in Christ, (2 Peter 2:4-8).
Finally, God does indeed have a future home prepared for us! Hebrews 11 teaches us that there is a better place to be, and compared it to Abraham sojourning in the land of promise.
We’ll talk about that next time… after all, we’re not there yet!
Pastor Darius, this was beautiful! “Are we there yet?” It’s such a timely message. It reminds me of a message I preached, “We’re on the ‘Wagon Train’ of Life”. Fans of the TV show “Wagon Train” know the perils the people faced trying to get to from the west to the east. Keep on encouraging the people of God!!! We’re all blessed to have you!
Thank you, Dr. Jackie, for your valuable input! We are indeed on our way, and by God’s grace we’ll make it. Blessisngs.