God Isn’t Finished with You Yet

[423 words] For the conscientious Christian, weaknesses and failures can be particularly vexing. To put it bluntly and personally, I hate it when I fail to live up to God’s standard. It irritates me. I know that when it comes to sinners, the apostle Paul staked a claim to the moniker, “chief” (1 Tim. 1:15). But he died centuries ago, and there are days when I believe I can make a compelling case that I now deserve chieftain status in the tribe of the sinful. Yet I know that I’m not alone. The world swells with folks who sin, and I suspect quite a few of them are as haunted by their shortcomings as I am by my own. The Philippian church was acquainted with failure, too. It was a wonderful body of Christians, but not a perfect one. Lest they become discouraged and despondent in their efforts to improve,…