I have always been intrigued by wood planers. You can take a plank of wood that is ugly as sin. That plank can have parasite infection bulges, knots, and even its bark, but those defects begin to be cut off as the plank repeatedly passes through the planer. The wood’s beauty becomes revealed. And, when finished, the wooden board is perfect, ready to be included in the construction materials of the carpenter.
In the hands of the Carpenter1, the Wood Planer carefully cuts away our defects, for the Holy Spirit is the Planer of God. He works in us so that we will eventually be perfect. Though we are already forgiven, our blemishes and weaknesses that lead us to sin, commit transgressions, and even iniquities are being removed through the progressive sanctification God performs in the lives of those in Christ Jesus.
God Changes You
Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross was a one-time event, yet His sacrifice continues to make the dead alive and the alive progressively perfect.
“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
Hebrews 10:14
We are told, “And this word continues to work in you who believe.2” That word is “God’s Good News.3” And just as God chooses gnarly planks, He sees the beauty hidden in them that is from the world. Then the height of the planer blade is adjusted, and the process begins.
This process is happening in everyone that has been made alive in Jesus. Some of His are still ugly with sins, some are beginning to show their purpose for God, and some are nearing what God has always seen in them.
Good News
Don’t fret. God chooses the wooden planks, Jesus is the Carpenter, and the Holy Spirit is the Planer. We may see nothing of value in us. That’s okay. If we are alive in Jesus, then God’s process of sanctification is at work in our lives.
Be of good cheer. God never starts a job that He doesn’t finish.
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[1]: John 16:13
[2]: 1 Thessalonians 2:13
[3]: 1 Thessalonians 2:9