Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
– Philippians 2:12
When Paul was writing this letter to the Philippians, he was encouraging them to take their salvation seriously.
The emphasis in the verse above is the verb ‘work’. Faith is easy, salvation is a miracle but relationship is hard work.
Just reflecting on a human level, every single relationship we enjoy on earth takes work – parents, siblings, partners, friends, colleagues etc.
So why do we expect it to be different with God?
The onus is on each believer to better their relationship with the Almighty Father through His Son Jesus Christ.
When we come into Christ, we need to see ourselves as newborn babies.
Our parent (God) already knows us, and has been awaiting our birth, but we have to develop knowledge of Him.
Who is He?
What does He like?
What does He dislike?
Thank God we have a ‘big brother’ in Jesus, who knows the Father and can show us how to understand Him too. And let’s not forget our best friend in the Holy Spirit, who nudges us in the right direction and encourages us to obey our Father.
Salvation does not end with the alter call. We need to work at it every single day. We need to be intentional. He already knows us, but we need to be purposeful about knowing Him.
Stephanie Speaks On 