http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20COr%203:18&version=NIV1984
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I+John+3%3A2-3&version=NIV1984
Years ago, when I was getting my accounting degree (just an Associate’s) I took a number of accounting courses. In one of those courses I learned how to value inventory. Now making sure that you have an accurate count of your inventory is extremely important for a business. In retail businesses, counting the inventory is relatively simple. You count the number of units that are still in the store. This could be groceries. Clothing. Jewelry. Whatever that particular business happens to be selling.
Manufacturers, however, present a problem in counting inventory. This is because not everything is a finished product. Take an automobile manufacturer, for instance. It is relatively easy to count the number of finished vehicles that have come off the assembly line. What is far more difficult is counting the unfinished vehicles. First, you have raw materials that are used to construct the vehicles. Such as windshields. Mirrors. Steel. Tires. Seats. Then you have ‘work in progress’. Or WIP. This is partially-assembled inventory. Such as a chassis that has the engine installed. But no seats, windshield, or dashboard. So the accountant’s job is to figure out what the cost of the various materials in the unfinished product are worth, while also adding in the labor to assemble it. Counting WIP is time-consuming and difficult to do but it is very important if a company is going to have an accurate valuation of their inventory. Of course, in any manufacturing company there is always going to be WIP. Because they are always in the process of assembling a completed product.
Guess what? Every single Christian is a WIP, too! That’s right. We are all in process. In theological terms this process is called sanctification. It begins immediately at salvation and will continue until we get to Heaven. There we will reach the final stage of our spiritual development called glorification. That time when our sin nature will be forever removed and we will reflect the very image of God in our entire being. Can’t wait for this to happen! Right now, however, we are WIP - works in progress. This is important for us to remember.
Manufacturers, however, present a problem in counting inventory. This is because not everything is a finished product. Take an automobile manufacturer, for instance. It is relatively easy to count the number of finished vehicles that have come off the assembly line. What is far more difficult is counting the unfinished vehicles. First, you have raw materials that are used to construct the vehicles. Such as windshields. Mirrors. Steel. Tires. Seats. Then you have ‘work in progress’. Or WIP. This is partially-assembled inventory. Such as a chassis that has the engine installed. But no seats, windshield, or dashboard. So the accountant’s job is to figure out what the cost of the various materials in the unfinished product are worth, while also adding in the labor to assemble it. Counting WIP is time-consuming and difficult to do but it is very important if a company is going to have an accurate valuation of their inventory. Of course, in any manufacturing company there is always going to be WIP. Because they are always in the process of assembling a completed product.
Guess what? Every single Christian is a WIP, too! That’s right. We are all in process. In theological terms this process is called sanctification. It begins immediately at salvation and will continue until we get to Heaven. There we will reach the final stage of our spiritual development called glorification. That time when our sin nature will be forever removed and we will reflect the very image of God in our entire being. Can’t wait for this to happen! Right now, however, we are WIP - works in progress. This is important for us to remember.
First of all, remembering that we are WIP helps us to go easier on ourselves. I don’t know if you struggle with this or not but I certainly do - being hard on myself. I am way harder on myself than my family or friends. And even God at times. I get discouraged by the continual reminder of my sinful nature that, although it has been de-powerized, is still hanging around. And I don’t always do God’s will. Nor do I always want to do God’s will. There are times when I still want to do my will. Have my own way. Remembering that I am not yet perfect, that I am a WIP helps me to see things in perspective. To quit condemning myself. To accept myself for who I am - a Christian in whom God is still working. A work in progress.Secondly, remembering that we are WIP helps me to go easier on others. Another thing I struggle with is being judgmental or critical of others. The fact is that other Christians are at different stages in their Christian development than I am. Some are further along. Others are way behind. It is very easy to become critical of those who are in the beginning stages of the process. You know. Christians who still swear. Or smoke. Or who don’t attend church regularly. Remembering that they are a WIP helps me to be more graceful toward them. God isn’t finished with them yet. They still have plenty of room to grow. That is between them and God. My job is to love them where they’re at. To pray for them. To encourage them. To inspire them to become all that God wants them to be.
So I have learned that I need to be content. God is still working on me. And you. There is still much shaping and fashioning that needs to take place. Some rough edges that need to be sanded down. Some time spent in the fire of God’s holiness. So that the impurities can be burned away. The good news about being a work in progress is just that. Progress. Every day we are becoming more like Jesus. One day the progress will be over. We will be complete. Exactly who we were created to be. People who reflect the glory and image of Jesus!
Lord, I thank you for the reminder that I am still a WIP. A work in progress. No, I haven’t arrived yet. In fact, I sometimes get discouraged by just how far I have to go. But I am glad for the progress that I have already made. And I am happy that the progress is still occurring. Every day. Whether I see it or not. Most of all, I am happy that the progress does have an end. Someday I will be finished. Complete. I will be just like You. In every way. O glorious day! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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