Bestlife: 5 Days of Inspiration to Live Your Best LifeSample

A Work in Progress

He who has begun a good work in you will complete it.

—Philippians 1:6

I had the opportunity to visit La Sagrada Familia (Holy Family Church) in Barcelona, Spain. It is an amazing sight to see. It is a church that really looks like no other in the world. This church is unique for its architecture, but also for something else—it is not finished. Construction of the church has lasted for 141 years so far! Antoni Gaudí designed the church and worked on it for forty-six years. Shortly before his death in 1926, the first tower was completed. Seven more towers are now done, and another ten are in construction.

Gaudí’s vision for the church was to inspire feelings of elevation that would invite people to worship God. He was a deeply devoted Christian who practiced his faith and incorporated it into everything about the building. He thought of himself as “God’s architect.”

He knew that his vision was huge and that the church would take time to build. The engineering design is substantial—with an unprecedented eighteen towers. Then there are the intricate façades filled with sculptures that tell the story of Jesus’s life.

Construction stopped for twenty years during the Spanish Civil War, and then repairs had to be made due to damage to the inside of the church. Work resumed slowly as donations came in to continue building.

The inside of the church was finally finished in 2010, but the outside of the church is still not complete. The goal for completion is 2026—one hundred years after Gaudí’s death.

Being under construction is a good way to understand our lives. We are all works in progress. Philippians 1:6 (nkjv) tells us, He who has begun a good work in you will complete it.

Sometimes we get frustrated with the pace of our progress or the rate of our accomplishments. We may wish we were farther along than we are. It takes time for the work to be done in our lives. It often takes longer than we think it should. We can get frustrated at the slow pace of growth and wish for more.

There are times when we have setbacks. Illness strikes, loss hits us, and relationships end. We have to regroup and continue on the journey. Despite the failures, we must choose to persevere past the disappointments and through the pain.

It won’t take you 141 years to come to completion, but for however long your life is, you will be under construction. You are becoming who God created you to be. Remain open to opportunities, keep persisting through problems, and stay committed to finishing your life well.