If you ever want to feel a little better about the list of home-repair or home-improvement projects you never seem to get done, just think about La Sagrada Familia.
La Sagrada Familia is a cathedral in Barcelona, Spain and is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world – despite the fact that it is unfinished. The cornerstone for the cathedral was laid in 1882, and under the guidance of architect Antoni Gaudi, construction moved forward, starting in 1883. Gaundi died in 1926, but the cathedral is still under construction today. In fact, the celebration of completion is scheduled for 2026 on the centennial of Gaudi’s death. If they make that deadline (can something that lasts this long really be called a “deadline?”) the cathedral will have been under construction for 144 years!
During his lifetime, people would often ask Gaudi, “When will the basilica be completed?” or, “Will it ever be completed?” His favorite response was, “My client is not in a hurry.” Gaudi believed he was building something for God and that He wasn’t in a hurry.
See, I told you your to-do-list wouldn’t seem so bad.
In his letter to the Christians in Philippi, the Apostle Paul tells us that as a Creator or re-Creator, God isn’t in a hurry either. In Philippians 1:6, Paul writes:
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
Thit verse is one I have heard quoted a lot in the church. There have even been worship songs inspired by that verse. The thought of what God starts in us, He will complete, is an encouraging one. I have read that verse, quoted that verse, and taught about that verse many times. But when I read it a couple of weeks ago, I understood it in a way I never had before. I have always been focused on the “what God starts He will finish” part. But that’s not how Paul’s statement ends. While Paul does say that God will finish what He starts, he then continues to explain how long it will take — a lifetime. My lifetime.
When I became a Christian as a junior in high school, God started a good work in me, and He is continuing His work in me. Here’s what I realized the other day: the work won’t be done in my lifetime. God’s work, His life-transforming process, won’t end until Christ’s return or my death. As much as I want to think that I have become who God calls me to be, or as much as I feel like a mess, God is working. He is completing His work in me. When I was a kid, I remember seeing people with bumper stickers on their cars that said, “Be patient with me, God’s not finished yet.” I thought that was a cheesy cop-out at the time, but now I get it. He isn’t finished with His good work in me yet, and won’t be in this lifetime.
That’s a sobering, scary, exciting thought, but here’s what really hit me about that verse: not only will God be completing His work in me until the very end of my life, He’s doing the same thing in you. We’re all a lifelong work in progress (hopefully we can all stick around as long as La Sagrada Familia). The reason that verse hit so hard was because I know that I am still a work in progress, but I often forget that you are too. So I get impatient with people. I think they should know better. I wonder how they could be a Christian for so long and still think or act a certain way. I even want to give up on people who I think should have it more together than they do.
But here’s the deal: the One Who continues to do a good work in me is still at work in those people, too. And that work is going to last for a lifetime. If God’s not giving up on them and is still continuing the work in their lives, I can stick with them, too. And I can show them grace and mercy and forgiveness and long-suffering and all the things the Bible tells us to extend to each other, just like God does.
One of my coaches growing up had a saying he would us when he was pushing us in practice or a game: “Pressure busts pipes.” This crazy 2020 has put a lot of pressure on us emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and even physically. Relationships have become strained. Tempers have gotten shorter and more explosive. Sides have been drawn and social media circles have tightened. All of these outcomes may have caused you to write some people off, or at the very least considered it. But here’s the hope: God’s still working. In you. In me. In “them.” Remembering that can help us stop for a beat, take a breath, and say a prayer when someone doesn’t live up to our expectations.
I hope that the La Sagrada Familia gets done in 2026, and I hope people will be able to enjoy its beauty for centuries. And I hope you will experience God’s good work in your life this year, next year, and in the years and decades to come. I also hope that when you see the incompleteness and work-in-progress parts of other people, you can also see the beauty in what God is building. The One who started a good work in you, me, and them is faithful and will complete that good work, even if it takes a lifetime.