He told me to tell you that
’m still crushing 2020.
Q uit day (January 12th
is the day most people q uit their resolutions) was last week and I ’m still going strong on my New Year’s resolutions.
How about you? I ’m Dr. Pepper free, eating clean and have run every day except for two days that I traveled.
W hile I might be crushing 2020 on the physical side (it’s fairly easy because I like to run and I don’t really like to eat— know Kyle, please forgive me) 2020 is crushing me on the spiritual side.
The spiritual goals I ’ve set are a lot harder if you know what I mean.
One of my goals was to be less of an old, tired and cynical pastor. can’t help being old and tired but I can be less cynical and while I ’m trusting in the Lord to be more faithful it’s hard and at times I wonder if I am going the wrong way.
I ’ve got a friend who is a famous television preacher. He’s on the radio too, and if I said his name you would probably know who he is. But he tells the story about being ordained into the ministry as a Methodist. By the way, I might be Baptist but I love the Methodist Church.
One of the q uestions they asked him was, “Are you moving on to perfection?”
My friend said as he thought about his answer he realized he was not a very good person and really not that spiritual, but after all he was being ordained into the ministry and that made him better than most (so he thought) so he answered, “Yes.”
Now that my friend is old and understands the mercy God has given him over all of the years that he has walked with Jesus, he says he would now answer the q uestion with, “W ho the hell knows?”
Please forgive my friend for cussing. He’s Presbyterian now and I think they allow it.
But here’s my point: I n this New Year as I try to cut people slack—as I offer grace because I think most people are doing the best they can. I feel like I ’m becoming complacent, complicit, a part of the problem and not a part of the solution (another resolution of mine is to be a part of the solution).
I feel like there is no accountability and mass anarchy might break out around me at any moment.
My goal in grace is to be more like Jesus (perfection) but I feel like I ’m becoming less like Jesus. And if someone asked me how I ’m doing I might have to answer with, “W ho the hell knows?”
I hope my mother is not reading this or I will be in trouble.
Can we talk? I know this is just between the two of us, but I think I might be a control freak.
W hat I ’m saying is I ’m not in control. God is in control, and I can’t fix anyone and I can’t change anyone but I can encourage everyone.
Jesus didn’t really come to “fix” the world. He said He came to save the world. He will come back to fix it later but right now my goal is tell people Jesus is not mad at them and He likes them and they can’t do anything about it.
W hat they do with that message and if they follow the rules is up to them. Let the chaos that love provokes begin.
He told me to tell you that.
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