完成工作會帶來滿足感。以我的工作為例，每個月看到一項工作從「進行中」進階到「完成」，都令我十分滿足，我最愛按下標示「完成」的按鈕。但上個月當我按下「完成」的按鈕時，不禁想到：若我在努力克服信仰的軟弱時，也能按下「完成」的按鈕，那該多好啊！基督徒的生命似乎永遠是在進行中，從未達到完成的階段。

我不由想起希伯來書10章14節，這裡說到基督的一次獻祭，使我們永遠得到完全。所以我們可以說，耶穌已經為我們按下了「完成」的按鈕。耶穌的受死，成就了你我無法為自己做成的事：當我們相信耶穌，祂就使我們在上帝眼中得蒙悅納，正如耶穌所說：「成了！」（約翰福音19章30節） 但令人費解的是，儘管耶穌的犧牲已使我們完全得救，我們卻仍需天天不斷地追求靈命成長，直到希伯來書作者所說的「得以成聖」。

雖然我們不明白耶穌已完成了救贖，為何我們的生命還需要屬靈的操練，但在我面對屬靈的爭戰時，只要想到耶穌為你我的犧牲已完成了救贖，就能得著激勵，即使我的屬靈生命仍在進行中也沒關係。沒有任何事物能攔阻上帝達成最終的目標：祂要使我們完全像祂（哥林多後書3章18節） 。

It’s satisfying to finish a job. Each month, for instance, one of my job responsibilities gets moved from one category to another, from “In Progress” to “Completed.” I love clicking that “Completed” button. But last month when I clicked it, I thought, If only I could overcome rough spots in my faith so easily! It can seem like the Christian life is always in progress, never completed.

Then I remembered Hebrews 10:14. It describes how Christ’s sacrifice redeems us totally. So in one important sense, that “completed button” has been pressed for us. Jesus’s death did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves: He made us acceptable in God’s eyes when we place our faith in Him. It is finished, as Jesus Himself said (John 19:30). Paradoxically, even though His sacrifice is complete and total, we spend the rest of our lives living into that spiritual reality—“being made holy,” as Hebrews’ author writes.

The fact that Jesus has finished something that’s still being worked out in our lives is hard to understand. When I’m struggling spiritually, it’s encouraging to remember that Jesus’s sacrifice for me—and for you—is complete . . . even if our living it out in this life is still a work in progress. Nothing can stop His intended end from being achieved eventually: being transformed into His likeness (see 2 Corinthians 3:18).