Rethinking Progress

Painter John Gast may best be known for his piece entitled American Progress. The painting depicts the Western expansion of the 19th century and represents the mindset that many people shared at the time. In this work, progress is illustrated by images portraying the conquering of new territory, the advancement of modern technology through human ingenuity and power and the courage of the human spirit to seize opportunities for prosperity. While the painting was released in 1872, this idea of “progress” still exists today. For many of us in the West, we still equate progress to expansion, achievement, acquisition, power and development.

While this view and value of progress is so engrained in Western culture, including our very own country, it is not the only way of looking at progress. The Bible paints a very different image where progress is not portrayed through the attainment of power and achievements but rather through a slow journey filled with failures and successes. To illustrate this, let’s look at a quick highlight reel of the disciple Peter’s journey:

Peter was one of the first to respond to Jesus’ call to follow him, leaving his life’s work of fishing. He is the one disciple that exhibited great faith by stepping out of the boat to walk on water. Seconds later he began to sink because he took his eyes off Jesus. Peter was the first disciple to confess Jesus as the Christ but was also rebuked by Jesus shortly after when he challenged the foretelling of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Peter vowed never to abandon Jesus, yet later denied even knowing him three times when Jesus needed him the most. Later, Peter was restored by Jesus and eventually went on to deliver the first Gospel message and starting the early church! Despite the many setbacks and successes, one thing remained constant; Peter stuck with Jesus.

In this one disciple’s story, it’s clear that progress is not a linear path to achievement. This is encouraging for our own setbacks. As we grow with Jesus we are going to make mistakes. We may resist a temptation one day, only to succumb to another the next day. We might find strength in the unique gifts and abilities God has given us, yet later grow impatient or dissatisfied with what we are not. We could go out of our way to show hospitality to another in one situation but later avoid embracing someone in need because of the inconvenience. We may give a generous tithe to our church but leave a stingy tip when we go out to brunch afterwards to the server who is struggling.

The battles we face and mistakes we make are part of the transformation process of growing more like Jesus. Like Peter, we will fail at times. But like Peter, God’s grace outdoes us and gives us second chances. Peter stuck with Jesus through his highs and lows, and we too should do the same. Let’s not dwell on our failures when we mess up. God’s grace and forgiveness to overcome those mistakes is far deeper than we can imagine. God’s love and ability to use us for good is not limited by our faults. Let’s be encouraged to keep growing spiritually, including our generosity, because regardless of the rate of our progress Jesus sticks with us even more than we stick with him!