Pablo
Casals was considered to be the preeminent cellist of the first half of the
20th century. When he was still playing his cello in the middle of his tenth
decade of life, a young reporter asked, “Mr. Casals, you are 95 years old and
the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice 6 hours a day?”
Mr.
Casals answered, “Because I think I’m making progress.”
What a
great attitude! As believers in Christ, we should never be satisfied to think
we have reached some self-proclaimed pinnacle of spiritual success, but rather
continue to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Jesus reminds us in John 15:16 that He chose us to
“go and bear fruit.” The result of healthy growth is continuing to bear
spiritual fruit throughout our lives. Our Lord promises: “I am the vine, you
are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit” (v.5).
In a steady and faithful progression to become more and more like the One we love and serve, we can be confident that He who began “a good work” in us will continue it until it is finally finished on the day when He returns (Phil. 1:6).
