Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains? You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. … Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. James 5:7-11

Well, it finally happened last week.  After months of practice, every night, 7 days a week, my son Justin defeated me in ping pong, 2 games in a row.

Backstory.  Years ago, at Bible college, a friend introduced me to ping pong.  I jokingly say we “majored” in ping pong the first semester of my freshman year. Every spare minute, it seemed, we could be found in the snack shop whacking the ball back and forth, as he taught me how to play.  I became quite good. At least “good” in the amateur sense of generally being able to keep the ball on the table, learning a half dozen spins and otherwise holding my own with players much better than me.  But then, as time went on, I kind of eased off and my priorities shifted to more important things… like studying, and I rarely played.  Over the years, we’ve never owned or had room for a ping pong table, and I found that very few people actually play, so I’ve rarely had the opportunity to pick it up again.  I don’t even think my kids knew it was an interest of mine. It’s been 30 years….

Fast forward to this past year, and some family friends in Virginia were moving about the same time we were, and they were trying to get rid of their ping pong table.  Our new house in PA has an unfinished basement, so Justin and I went over to their house and disassembled it to get it out of their basement and then moved it to ours, where it sat forgotten for 3 months.  Then the pandemic began with the stay-at-home order.  After we had watched every video we owned and played every board game we could think of, I remembered the ping pong table.  We reassembled it one Saturday afternoon and ever since then, we’ve played almost every day. It’s been the perfect pandemic diversion.

Of course, as a beginner, Justin was truly terrible, and for many weeks he just patiently endured. There seemed to be little progress. Initially there wasn’t a lot of joy in the process, I’m sure, and I know it was frustrating for him.  It takes a long time to develop muscle memory and learn the force and angles needed to keep that little 2.7-gram ball on the table for both forehand and backhand.  After about 60 defeats in a row, I wondered if Justin would lose interest and quit.  But he hung in there and slowly improved. And little by little he gained on me until, “Wham!” he beat me two in a row.   Now that things are competitive, it’s a lot more fun.  In fact, he will often say in the evening when I get home from the church, “Dad, ready for a beating?”  We trash talk to each other all the way down into the basement and then have a blast playing together.

When you think about it, that is a lot like the process of growing as a Christian. The Holy Spirit produces transformation in our life through slow, steady growth, frequent setbacks and consistent practice (notice that ‘discipline’ is part of the word ‘discipleship’).  The way of Jesus takes time. It may not be a whole lot of fun at first and dying to self is always hard… but as we consistently submit to God’s pruning and cultivation, the results are eternal. Galatians 6:9 reminds us:  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Most good thing in life take time.

Let’s be honest.  All Christians want to be Christlike.  We would all love to have the passion of Billy Graham, the Bible knowledge of Ravi Zacharias, the compassion of Mother Teresa and the patience of Job.  But few are willing to submit to the process of growing in grace. We live in an instant-gratification society that is filled with distractions and we’ve come to expect things quick and easy. And when we don’t see the progress we expect, we assume ‘it’ isn’t working, and we quit.

But when it comes to spiritual transformation there are no shortcuts or quick fixes.  We aren’t growing mushroom here, but oak trees. It is a slow process to become the person God has made you to be.

So, here’s a word of caution and encouragement.

First the caution:  Spiritual growth takes initiative, intention and perseverance.  It never just happens.  We must choose daily to cooperate with God’s Spirit in active ways along the path of obedience.  If you are just waiting for something to happen or are unwilling to take necessary steps forward, you will never experience the growth that God intends.

Now the encouragement: Sometimes we feel stuck, like we’ve lost 60 games in a row and aren’t seeing any progress.  Relax. Cut yourself some slack. God is still at work.  We are in this for the long haul. We grow on his timetable, not our own.  Progress may seem slow, but it is sure, even when we experience setbacks. Stop looking at how far you need to go and take a minute to celebrate how far you’ve come.

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6).

I’m proud of Justin and I hope he carries this lesson with him into every area of his life.  And for all of us, growth takes time, energy and perseverance.  Stop beating yourself up and trust the process.  God is bringing you to maturity.

Let’s press on!