Complete

Granddaddy and grandboy
2018

"Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead...make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21)

Two summers ago, our oldest grandboy came to Alabama to build a treehouse. He and his granddaddy completed the job in three hard-working days.

In the book of James in the New Testament, the half-brother of Jesus Christ encouraged believers to count it all joy when we fall into trials because the testing of our faith produces perseverance or endurance (the King James translation reads "patience"). 

James offered a curious instruction: "Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Matthew Henry, a 17th century minister, wrote that God must work in us before we are fit for any good work, and the work of perseverance is to make us perfect. If we will let perseverance work, it will work wonders in times of trouble. 

Henry said bear all that God appoints with a humble heart and an obedient eye to Him. When the work of perseverance is completed, the Christian is entire—nothing wanting and furnished with all that is necessary for our Christian race and warfare, enabling us to persevere to the end.

For this reason, beloved, I bow my knee before the Father and pray that our Heavenly Father will use our trials to make us complete until He chooses to remove them. "I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen us with power through His Spirit in our inner being, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. I pray that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power, together to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ....that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19)