1 Thessalonians 5:23-28: a reflection

Paul ends his letter with a benediction that is also a promise: may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless. And then the line that carries the weight: he who calls you is faithful, who will also do it. Notice who does the sanctifying. Not you, straining to make yourself holy, but the God of peace himself; and the one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

That is a rest for anyone worn out by the struggle to become holy. We can approach the Christian life as an exhausting self-improvement project, trying by sheer effort to sanctify ourselves, and quietly despairing at how far we still have to go. Paul lifts the weight off. Sanctification is finally God's work in you, and he is faithful to it; he will do it. The One who called you does not call and then abandon the project halfway; he completes what he begins.

That does not make us passive, but it does relocate our confidence. Your growth in holiness does not finally rest on the strength of your own effort but on the faithfulness of the God who is at work in you and will not quit. When you look at how unfinished you still are and feel like giving up, hear Paul's promise: he who calls you is faithful; he will do it. Rest your hope not on your own sanctifying but on his, and trust him to complete the work.