Beyond Belief

 

“By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ I appeal to all of you, my friends, to agree in what you say, so that there will be no divisions among you. Be completely united, with only one thought and one purpose,” 1 Corinthians 1:9, Good News Translation.

Despite our diverse cultures, radically opposing beliefs, and personal preferences for how things are to be done, we are all to be One in Christ.

 

First, we believe:

Yes! God DOES mean what He says!

Yes! God the Father gave us Jesus the Son.

Yes, the Lord eradicates our wrongs and resuscitates us to a new life in Christ.

 

Then, we obey:

We find out what God wants.

We read the Bible. We talk to God and listen.

We invite God’s Holy Spirit to guide and empower us.

We use the ministry gifts and other resources we have been given to build up the Body of Christ.

 

Together, we do even more:

In Christ, we worship God and work with God’s Family.

We pray for discernment and wisdom, compassion and mercy.

We invite others into our ever-widening circle of God’s Love.

Together, we encircle the world with the good news of God’s Son.

We extend respect to all peoples, knowing we are all made in the image of God.

We focus on needs and goals we share, rather than our differences.

As God enables us, we make peace in the Name of Jesus.

                                   

©2021, Mary Harwell Sayler          

 

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Branching from Christ, The Vine

As I stared at a picture of a leaf, the sight jolted me into a new awareness, recalling what Jesus said: “I Am The Vine. You are the branches,” John 15:5. Branches - not a leaf!

A leaf is a singular thing - independent, not communal.

A leaf cannot bear fruit. It does not spread or reproduce, and, eventually, it falls. A leaf leaves!

“I Am the vine; ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing,” John 15:5, King James Version (KJV.)

Jesus Christ The Vine has life, has power.

As branches grow in a healthy manner, they stay in communion with the vine and with other branches, entwining themselves around one another, staying strong, producing fruit, and spreading - making a difference wherever they go.

That’s us! Praise the Lord in Whom we have our life, our power, our fruit, our being.

Mary Sayler, ©2018

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The imperfect life of perfectionism

This morning I woke up thinking about the difference between perfectionism and Jesus’ appeal to us to be perfect. I suspected the thought meant God wanted me to write about these differences, but, to be sure, I prayed for a word of confirmation.

When I checked my email for the Daily Bible Verse from Bible Gateway, I did not see Matthew 5:48 as expected: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,” King James Version (KJV.) But….

Today’s verse came from Romans 12:2:

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect,” New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Or to put it another way:

“Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect,” New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE.)

As you can see, both translations say the same thing, just with slightly different choices of synonyms, and both emphasize a connection between discernment and the kind of perfection intended. In other words...

To be perfect means clearly knowing and acting on God’s will.

Contrast that understanding with definitions for perfectionism found in Word software:

Fastidiousness
Fussiness
Hairsplitting
Nitpicking

The “nicest” word in the list is “conscientiousness,” but then, that begs the question, “Of what or Whom are we constantly conscious or aware?” If ourselves, we’ll not only be apt to be nitpicking but self-absorbed and, oh, self-conscious!

Jesus’ call to perfection asks us to be God-conscious.

We’re to be so in-tune with God’s Word that scripture begins to transform our minds from the world’s ways to The Way of Christ. Then, we continue this transformation throughout our lives by choosing to renew our minds as we regularly read the Bible, pray, and worship the Lord in communion and church fellowship with others.

What joy! What grace we receive as we put aside our own need for personal acceptance and perfection and, instead, accept the wisdom, way, and will of our Most Perfect Lord.

by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017

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