Read 1 Thess., 5:12-28
Through and through. Head to toe. Inside and out. Complete. Whole.

Blameless…if that word doesn’t send us to our knees, maybe onto our faces, we may have
forgotten grace. We may have forgotten just how wretched we once were.

Sometimes, we just need to pause and look in the mirror and remember who we were and what
we looked like before Jesus rescued us. Remember how we thought. Maybe we need to look
at how we’re still thinking… how we still look.

Are we different? Have we grown in our faith? Would onlookers know that we’re under
construction?

Salvation is a package deal. All inclusive. Not only do we receive forgiveness for our sins and
life now and forever with our Creator, we also get in on a renovation project more impressive
than anything Chip and Joanna Gaines have ever done.

Let’s look back in that mirror and recognize how impossible we were. How impossible we still
are. How impossible we feel.

I mean, how good are you at the list we read today? Do you honor those who are working hard
for your spiritual growth? Do they know you appreciate them? Are you living a life of peace and
unity? Are you an encourager? Does your life sharpen others or dull them? And are you loving
people that are different than you? Are you helpful? How’s your patience? Are you seeing the
best in people or the worst? Are you testing what you hear and are exposed to with the word of
God? Are you generous? Are you full of joy, prayer, and thanksgiving . . . always?

Wow, what a charge! This is sanctification. It’s a gift. It’s an opportunity. It’s abundant life. It’s
becoming an uncommon human, full of love and godliness.

It’s part of the package. And it’s the most humbling and beautiful thing to know that we can’t
do it on our own but that God can. And that God does. That He is the only one who gets us
through (and through).

He sees through our flimsy excuses. He sees through our thick skin to our pain,
disappointment, depression, and instability and says, ‘I want to get you through that. Walk with
me hand in hand. If you’ll just let me. If you’ll surrender, I will craft your ‘insides’ to look just like
me and then your ‘outsides’ will too. I am your faithful God. I called you into this life and I will
see it through.”

This renovation is full of all the upgrades and best. It’s the most expensive option. It’s the one
we would choose, if we could afford it. Ahhhh….and we CAN through the work of our precious
Jesus who paid for it all.

Go back to our passage and ask the Spirit to show you how you’re doing. Confess your
shortcomings. Ask for help. And trust that He will finish the work He started in you. And thank
Him often that you will be found blameless at His coming!

Shelly Eberly