For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NASB
The term follow-up is used in many areas of our lives. Often times when we meet with a doctor, we are scheduled a follow-up visit. When a police officer takes a report, it sometimes requires a follow-up investigation. When we interview, there is sometimes a follow-up call. A first date sometimes leads to a follow-up call and perhaps another date.
When it comes to Christianity, people fall into one of several categories. Some choose not to be Christians and don’t believe in God. Some have maybe attended a church a time or two, but their focus is elsewhere. Some believe in God, but believe that He would never really send anyone to such a horrible place as hell. Some have gone to church and perhaps even been baptized, but for whatever reason never really followed through and continued to attend. Some attend every Sunday and hear a good sermon, but fail to follow-up by living that sermon out.
Follow-up is very important. Our scripture passage today tells us that God does a good work in us and will continue this good work until Christ returns. We will not reach perfection until we meet Jesus. But we should be striving in that direction from the time we accept Christ as our Savior. The problem today is that there are so many distractions in the world that people live this ADHD existence. Today we are pulled in so many directions, it is easy for Bible study, prayer and church attendance to be the things that are put on the back burner if we are not careful.
For many years I worked in a job that consumed me. Even when I was off I wasn’t always off because I was subject to be called in. There were many pressures associated with the job and many deadlines to be met. My Bible reading, prayer and church attendance were not obligations to which I was devoted, but things that I hoped to have time for each week. There were Sundays when I was just so tired that all I wanted to do was lay around all day.
But this is not why God saved me. God saved me so that I could focus on Him and He could handle all the other pressures for me. Jesus told us in Matthew 11:28 that we could come to Him when we are weary. We can come to Him when we are stressed out or worried (Philippians 4:6). But once we come to Him, we must follow-up.
When we fail to follow-up we use prayer like a 911 call. You don’t want a group of firemen, policemen, or paramedics to live in your house, right? You want them to fix the problem and move on. Well, sometimes we treat God that way, but the difference is we need to live in His house. We need to come to Him. We need to humbly submit ourselves to Him. We need to trust in Him to provide all that we need and to protect us. We need to follow through. We need to give it all to Him and trust in Him.
But remember, trusting in God is only the beginning. We must follow-up and continue to follow through. We must grow in Him. We can only do this if we stay connected to Him through Bible study and prayer. We can flourish and thrive when we plant ourselves in a good Bible teaching church.
If you have no relationship with your Lord and Savior, then I beg of you to consider it and at least try it out. I am sure you will not be disappointed. If you were saved, but then fell away from the church, then get back into a good Bible teaching church. Surround yourselves with mentors to help you grow in Christ. If you attend church, but your worship has been stale and you haven’t been the best example of Christ to those around you, turn to Him and ask Him to complete His work in you. We will always be a work in progress until Christ comes for us, but there should be progress.
If you don’t follow-up, you can never follow through. I beg of you today to enter into a close, loving relationship with Jesus Christ and allow Him to finish His work in you. If you have never drawn near to Him to allow Him to begin His work in you, then what are you waiting for? Trust in God today.
Have a great day!