August 27

Jesus has done a perfect work. The moment we accept His gift of redemption we are washed clean, made righteous, and are perfect to stand before a holy God. Without Christ’s work of redemption, we are not perfect to stand before Him, for the Word says that “He is of purer eyes than to behold evil” (Habakkuk 1:13).

There is great comfort in the realization that the gift Jesus gave us is complete and entire. There is nothing required of us beyond our acceptance of the unspeakable gift of Christ Himself. Yet we are given the opportunity to allow Him to work in us and transform us from the creatures of time that we are to the creatures of eternity He has allowed us to become.

For the most part, that opportunity is given to us in order that we might be effectual to His purposes on earth rather than to perfect us for heaven for we know our heavenly perfection will come when we see Him and are transformed into a clearer likeness of Him through truly beholding Him for the first time (I John 3:2). Without actually seeing Him, we are limited in our ability to be like Him. Our earthly service is honed, however, by appropriating II Peter 1:5-8 to ourselves.

Here we are admonished to, “…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness knowledge; to knowledge self control; to self control perseverance and to perseverance, godliness and kindness and love. For, if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive…for Christ” He desires that we be effective and productive—and that happens only when we take on His own character as the Word here describes. This acquisition requires our surrender and our effort.