“This life, therefore, is not godliness but the process of becoming godly, not health but getting well, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way. The process is not yet finished, but it is actively going on. This is not the goal but it is the right road. At present, everything does not gleam and sparkle, but everything is being cleansed.”
– Martin Luther
Probably most parents have, at one time or another, heard the plaintive question from the back seat: “Are we there yet?” Often the time of Lent in the church is referred to as a journey, but perhaps that language should refer to the whole of our life of faith. As Luther points out in the quotation above, we are not a finished product in this life, we are not there yet. We do not graduate from Sunday School or confirmation, and suddenly have every answer for every situation, but we walk in the presence of Jesus’ promise to be with us each step of the way.
This means we humbly ask each day for this day’s bread, for this day’s wisdom, and this day’s courage to take our steps in faith toward God and love toward one another. When we do this we can allow our eyes and ears to be open to God’s calling this day. The mistakes of yesterday can be washed away. The challenges today will be different, and the opportunities to serve will change with our own experiences, strengths, and the situations this day brings.
We’re not there yet. But God is still working within us. As we read a couple Sundays ago: “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” — 2 Corinthians 3:18
God’s blessings on this day’s journey!
