Before retiring a few years ago, I worked for a large food company. We sold many different types of products but used the same process to create them. We started with raw materials, and the completed prod- uct ready to be sold was known as ‘finishedproduct inventory’. The term applied to the steps in between – where raw materials were being processed but not yet finished – was ‘work in process’. It was product that was partially made but not yet completed.

It occurs to me that those terms are a good analogy for our Chris- tian walk. We all start out as ‘raw materials’. When we accept Christ as our Saviour, we become a ‘work in process’. We are born again and we begin the lifetime journey of becoming more like Christ. We look forward to the day when we will become a ‘finished product’, a citizen in heaven where Christ ‘will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body’.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to live each day following the example of his life. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen