We through the Spirit eagerly wait for the
hope of righteousness by faith. - Galatians 5:5
The British novelist J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, "Sheep get to be like their Shepherd, it
is said, but slowly." The renewal of the inner person, becoming Christlike, is not
accomplished in a moment but a lifetime.
Augustine (354-430) observed that this process is like healing from a near-fatal wound.
"It's one thing," he said, "to remove the spear, but quite another to heal
the wound by long and careful treatment." This healing occurs gradually as our
old ways of thinking and living are erased, and we become more like our Savior as we are
renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).
This renewal takes place not by self-effort alone but by faith. It involves reading,
meditating on, and obeying God's Word. We must also fix our minds on the character of
Christ and ask God to make us like Him.
Then we must wait, confident that God is working in us to accomplish His purposes. Every
day has its mishaps and memories of something we should have done or not done, but we must
not be impatient. Though incomplete, we are in process. Sin may frustrate us for a day,
but God is at work - and on ahead lies perfection, which is "the hope of
righteousness" (Galatians 5:5). Someday we'll see His face and we'll be like Him - as
holy as the holy One (1 John 3:2).
-DHR
Dear Jesus, take my heart and hand,
And grant me this, I pray:
That I through Your sweet love may grow
More like You day by day.
-Garrison
The new birth takes only a moment; growth in holiness takes a lifetime.