Are We There Yet?

There is not a parent who does not have an “Are we there yet?” story about their children. Some things are just universal, and the impatience of children is one of them. Sadly, that impatience does not go away as we become adults; it just seems to morph into something different. It is not the journey to grandma’s house that we get impatient with but the journey of life.

Pastor and author of The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren said, “Christlikeness is your eventual destination, but your journey will last a lifetime.” As believers in Jesus Christ, it is our ultimate desire for God to transform us into the image of His Son. Through prayer and Bible study, we daily life as best we can to be the people God has called us to be. In the end, however, we see that we fall so short of the goal.

“This life, therefore, is not righteousness but growth in righteousness, not health but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it. The process is not yet finished, but it is going on. This is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified.”

Martin Luther

1483-1546

Reformer

Success-minded people do what we can to be godly, but we know that sin still contaminates our hearts. Oh, we may not get drunk, smoke, or do drugs. No partying or bad behavior can be seen on the outside, but inside we have bad attitudes, negative thoughts, and hearts set on the world more than on God. We plead before God to change us and wonder why we have not made sainthood yet.

Here is the good news, God has control of your life, and He is making you into the person He created you to be. He knows your heart and desire to serve Him. He also knows how hard it has been. Author Max Lucado said, ‘God never said the journey would be easy, but He did say the arrival would be worthwhile.” Success-minded people hold on to the promise that God will indeed make them the people He has called them to be.

Hang on, my dear friend. No, we are not there yet, but we will be soon enough. Trust God and follow the path he has set for you. Live for Him, and you will find that you have changed more than you thought. I love what Preacher George Whitefield said, “How sweet the rest after fatigue! How sweet will heaven be when our journey is ended.”

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be.  We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.”

1 John 3:2

You can learn more about Personal Development from author and speaker, John Patrick Hickey. To get his books, training material, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at www.johnpatrickhickey.com.   

© 2020 John Patrick Hickey. No part of this may be reprinted or published without the permission of the author.