There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. Philippians 1:6 

Marissa was feeling sad.  All of her childhood memories and experiences had taken place in a country that she might never be able to visit again. As she eventually forgot details and had no way to revisit her past physically, she worried that her past self might cease to exist, in a manner of speaking.

A friend encouraged her to think about her life like a boat. Over time, parts of the boat need repair or are so weathered they need to be replaced altogether. After many repairs, the boat may eventually have no original pieces left, yet it never stopped being the same boat.

We can think of God as the master of all boat repairs. It hurts when paint is stripped off or the special window you’d grown so fond of is blown out in a storm. But God repairs and rebuilds with loving purpose. After all, this boat that is your life, was God’s design and gift in the first place. Under God’s hand, the replacement window is somehow more beautiful than the old one! God, as architect and artist, tenderly shapes us to be more like Himself.  Under His loving hand, we become humbler and understanding, less self-focused.

Improvements aren’t punishment, or for the purpose of highlighting past faults. Instead, the disciplining hand of the artist works to enhance the original design and beauty of the structure. This process is called sanctification, which means the disciple of Jesus is being made holy, like God.

 

Resource reading: Philippians 1:1-30