My heart went out to the young man sitting across the table from me. We had been meeting for several weeks. Over that time I had seen in him grow more into the man God had created and called him to be. The more my friend studies the word of God, the more he strives to be a man of God.
But as he thought about his various roles and responsibilities, particularly as a husband and father, he seemed a bit overwhelmed by how far he has yet to go.
I sought to encourage him, first by telling him the progress I had already seen in him. But then I shifted from looking back to looking ahead, saying, “You’re halfway there because you’ve already got the right picture in place!”
Immediately I thought of the thousand-piece puzzle my wife and I had put together over our vacation this past summer. As you can see from the picture below, it was a slow start.
As the hours and days wore on, we wondered if we would ever be able to put all these pieces together!
But the key to our success was the picture on the puzzle box cover. We looked at that picture countless times as we put the puzzle together. It showed us where all the pieces needed to go and how beautiful the puzzle would be once it was finished.
That’s how Scripture functions in the life of the Christian. Paul told Timothy, the young man he was mentoring, “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 1:13).
The ancient Greek word for “pattern” (hypotypōsis) referred to an artist’s sketch, a model representation which set the standard for the finished work.
Ultimately, sanctification is God’s work. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Eph. 2:10 NLT). Because God always finishes what he starts, Paul could confidently declare to all Christians, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).
This promise should promote not passivity on our part, but rather proactivity and perseverance. That’s why Scripture says, “Work hard to show the results of your salvation with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Phil. 2:12-13 NLT).
By the time my wife and I left for home, our puzzle was complete. What joy and satisfaction it brought!
Imagine what it will be like when it’s time to leave for our heavenly home, and God’s masterpiece is complete. May our anticipation of that day give us all the motivation we need this day to put a few more pieces into place.