God Is Still at Work

Scripture: Philippians 1:6

“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”
— Philippians 1:6

I have been slowly reading The Way of the Pilgrim, and today it led me into Philippians. I didn’t get very far before I had to stop.

“The one who began a good work…”

I have read those words before, but this time I couldn’t just keep reading.

Paul doesn’t say that I began the work. God did.

That made me stop and think about grace.

If God is eternal, then God’s grace didn’t suddenly appear when I became aware of God. Grace was already there. I didn’t discover God before God knew me. I didn’t have to understand everything before God could begin working in my life.

When I look back over my own pilgrimage, I can see that more clearly.

I was baptized when I was five years old. Did I understand everything baptism meant? Of course not. I simply knew enough to take the step of faith I understood at the time.

I began reading the Bible when I was eight. I certainly didn’t understand much of what I was reading. More than sixty years later, I am still discovering what these Sacred Writings have to teach me.

When I was fourteen, I experienced what I understood to be God’s call in a dream. I responded with the understanding I had then. I could not possibly have known where that response would take me.

And here I am all these years later, still learning.

I am still discovering what my baptism means. I am still learning how to read the Bible. I am still learning what God’s call means. I am still discovering the mystery of the Eucharist. And I am certainly still learning about life itself.

Maybe that is part of what Paul is telling me.

The work isn’t finished.

There is something freeing about that.

I don’t believe God has predetermined every event of my life. I don’t believe everything that has happened to me was somehow scripted beforehand. I prefer to think in terms of purpose rather than fate.

God calls. I respond.

God gives grace. I can receive it or resist it.

I make choices. Sometimes I make good ones. Sometimes I don’t.

I learn. I change. I take another step.

And through it all, grace continues working.

Faith doesn’t require us to understand everything before we take the next step. We take the step of faith we understand today and remain open to what God may teach us tomorrow.

That realization also makes me think differently about other pilgrims.

If my understanding has changed and deepened throughout my life, why should I expect everyone else to be at exactly the same place I am?

They are walking too.

They are learning too.

Grace may be working in ways I cannot see.

Their journey isn’t finished.

Neither is mine.

Perhaps spiritual maturity isn’t reaching a place where we finally have all the answers. Perhaps it is becoming increasingly willing to say:

This is what I understand today. I will respond faithfully to what I understand, remain open to what God may show me tomorrow, and trust that grace is still at work.

I started out intending to read further in Philippians today.

I didn’t.

One verse was enough.

Sometimes on a pilgrimage, we come across something along the road that makes us stop for a while. We don’t need to hurry past it just because there is more road ahead.

So today, I think I will sit here with Paul for a little while longer.

God began.

Grace is working.

We are still learning.

And the pilgrimage continues.

A Prayer for Us All

Gracious God,
thank you for beginning your good work in us long before we understood what you were doing.

Give us grace to respond faithfully with the understanding we have today. Keep us humble enough to recognize that we are still learning, courageous enough to take the next step when you call, and open enough to change when you show us something we have not seen before.

Help us also to be patient with our fellow pilgrims. Remind us that you are working in their lives just as you are working in ours, often in ways we cannot see or understand.

May we trust your grace, seek your purpose, and walk faithfully wherever the journey leads.

And when we become discouraged with ourselves or with one another, remind us that the work is not yet finished.

You are still working.

We are still learning.

And your grace is still leading us onward.

Amen.