“Oh my dear children! I feel as if I am going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ develops in your life.” (Galatians 4:19 NLT)
Paul writes of the labor of love that is birthing the gospel in flesh and blood. My years as pastor know this to be true; we labor over people. It’s hard, holy and sometimes thankless work. But also, God-hungry believers self-labor, too. We are not content with our current level of Christlikeness. We are bent on being molded more into His image. This is an intense and purposeful process, much like birthing pains.
“Christ was formed in Mary’s womb, now He’s being formed in you.” (John Eldredge)
What mystery! Such wonder! That’s why it hurts. It’s hard. Why we can’t become godly on our own. It’s miraculous and orchestrated and attended to by God Himself. It’s uncomfortable and it’s stretching – just as the mother’s belly is tugged to capacity to accommodate another being, so our human frames are stretched by the transformative work of the Holy Spirit. We will come to fullness at an appointed time. There is a day and an hour when our transformation will be complete and we will be made like Him.
Until then, it’s a labor of love. Labor involves effort, pain, travail. The development of Christ in us is not an easy or natural thing. Hardly. It is intense, consuming and it feels futile at time. I labored twenty hours with my son. I pushed for two more to no avail; only to be told to sit back and wait for the surgeon. The 45 minutes that followed were the most miserable moments of my my life; it seemed as though all my labor had been for nothing. It felt fatal. And then the surgeon came, worked his magic and our son’s cry filled the room.
Just like a labor will not seem with it’s effort until delivery; our transformation into Christ’s image may feel questionable until it’s complete. But when that perfect newborn is slipped into mother’s waiting arms, she no longer cares about the pains of labor. Her life is full of new love and sharpest purpose. I suspect our transformation will be similar; all effort will be forgotten in the face of Christ.
“Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be when Christ appears. But we do know we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is.” (1 John 3:2 NLT)
Lord, please grant us great stamina for labor. We long to be made like You. Strengthen us as we travail against our carnal nature. Prop us up with the power of Your Holy Spirit. Please come quickly and finish the work. Transform us into Your likeness. Amen.