My furniture delivery was right on time. The truck pulled up and two men got out and carried our much-anticipated furniture into our house. I watched as the men methodically unwrapped and assembled our furniture and left carrying away the debris. The next day another truck came to deliver some more furniture from a different store. They brought our two pieces in and put them on the floor and left. They told me that I had to unwrap and assemble the furniture myself. I must not have signed up for the free assembly.
Some assembly required, is not just limited to furniture. I have discovered that living a successful spiritual life requires some assembly as well. We are saved by grace, through our faith in Jesus Christ. Through no works of our own, we will enter the glories of heaven on the merits of Christ’s shed blood for us. However, if we are going to enjoy success in our walk with the Lord it will take some effort of our own. Paul tells us in Phil. 2:12,13: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure”. Paul does not say work for your salvation. We are to work out what God has worked in. As we carefully read the instructions from His Word, we will see the areas of our life that need assembled. Our relationship with Christ needs to be nourished, our thought life needs to be guarded, our speech needs to be modified, and our actions need to be molded by the character of Christ. And we must be careful to haul the debris of our sins out to the trash.
God does not just deliver us to the gates of heaven the moment we trust in Christ as our Savior. Some assembly is required in our life so that we will be more conformed to the image of His Son.