PBPGINFWMY
I was fourteen years old in 1973 when I attended my first Basic Youth Conflicts seminar in the Seattle Key Arena with about 20,000 other people. The seminar was led by Bill Gothard, a clean-cut, mild-mannered, soft-spoken graduate of Wheaton College who was able to command the attention of middle-schoolers to Seniors. He had strong convictions and addressed all kinds of topics with a combination of Scripture, some psychology, and common sense. At that time in my life, it gave me a lot to think about as a younger believer even if there was some justifiable criticism regarding a few aspects of the teaching.
My point in sharing this story is to note one of the most memorable things that came out of this seminar for me. It was a clever idea about designing a lapel pin that everyone was given to wear.
It simply had 10 letters on it: PBPGINFWMY. You could guarantee people would ask about it and it would inevitably spark some very interesting conversations.
PBPGINFWY was an acronym for “please be patient God is not finished with me yet.”
Over the years, I have often thought of this acronym in light of the truth that we grow in the God-ordained environment of community with one another.
Some have used this acronym as a convenient excuse for their messy, neglectful, Christian walk.
Others have used this to soften the accountability they don’t like or want from loving brothers or sisters in Christ.
But the reason it continues to resonate with me is because of its truthfulness. It draws attention to the reality of our progressive sanctification. “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13).
We are all commanded to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
We have all been granted a new positional status in Christ that readies us to live out our faith (e.g., saints, sanctified, holy, righteous, more than conquerors, seated with Christ in the heavenlies, etc.)
We are all called to aim at our ultimate target, “to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29).
We are all been given resources that bless us “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3: God’s Word, Holy Spirit, prayer, one anothers, empowering grace, purposeful trials, etc.)
We all know our progress will be opposed, challenged, tarnished, and undermined by sin, the flesh, and Satan’s endless temptations. All this is designed to distract us, discourage us, and derail us from honoring the Lord.
BUT one challenging component of our growth is being patient with one another. Sometimes we find ourselves judging each other, discouraging one another, expecting perfection from each other, looking down on one another, and even misusing truth toward one another. This can discourage and demotivate us when God has called us to respond this way: “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:2-3), or “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.” (Col. 3:12-13), or “love is patient” (1 Cor. 13:4). Growth is not always fast and consistent, but we know God is faithful, and we must do our part and help each other out along the way.
So better than a lapel pin attached to our clothing, let’s work to “adorn the doctrine of God in every respect” (Titus 2:10b) by practicing the PBPGINFWMY sentiment with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Pastor Jeff