“Gentlemen, we will chase perfection, and we will chase it relentlessly, knowing all the while we can never attain it. But along the way, we shall catch excellence.”
― Vince Lombardi Jr.
5Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”.(34:5-7)EXODUS 34-36
MATTHEW 23:1-22
8“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
8“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
JOURNAL
The description of God is a description of perfection. To fully understand this is to realize that obedience to this God changes the ambition of the heart. To embrace this God is to embrace a pursuit of perfection in all things. Not just in our jobs or sports or money it is a pursuit of perfect love, service, forgiveness, compassion. It is a pursuit of perfection while at the same time accepting that we are flawed and will never attain it. It is living with this humility while relentlessly pursuing perfection.
Over the last few days I have begun reading again John Eldredge's book, Fathered by God. This book was a gamechanger for me years ago. It has been so good to remember the process laid out by Eldredge..."boyhood...cowboy/ranger...warrior...lover...king...sage." Matching this process with scripture it so clearly shows God's way of fathering and how each stage is a building block and a necessity for the next.
Being at the King stage in my life, I am reminded again of how important the preceding stages are. I am reminded that you don't just experience them and move on but rather they become part of the next stage, just as the foundation of a building is part of the building, just as the root of the tree is part of the tree. The lessons of the beloved, cowboy, warrior, lover are all wrapped up in being a king. They are what make the king stage possible. Therefore they are to be revisited and affirmed.
This is perfection...this is the path to righteousness.
The description of God is a description of perfection. To fully understand this is to realize that obedience to this God changes the ambition of the heart. To embrace this God is to embrace a pursuit of perfection in all things. Not just in our jobs or sports or money it is a pursuit of perfect love, service, forgiveness, compassion. It is a pursuit of perfection while at the same time accepting that we are flawed and will never attain it. It is living with this humility while relentlessly pursuing perfection.
Over the last few days I have begun reading again John Eldredge's book, Fathered by God. This book was a gamechanger for me years ago. It has been so good to remember the process laid out by Eldredge..."boyhood...cowboy/ranger...warrior...lover...king...sage." Matching this process with scripture it so clearly shows God's way of fathering and how each stage is a building block and a necessity for the next.
Being at the King stage in my life, I am reminded again of how important the preceding stages are. I am reminded that you don't just experience them and move on but rather they become part of the next stage, just as the foundation of a building is part of the building, just as the root of the tree is part of the tree. The lessons of the beloved, cowboy, warrior, lover are all wrapped up in being a king. They are what make the king stage possible. Therefore they are to be revisited and affirmed.
Being at the King stage in my life, I am reminded again of how important the preceding stages are. I am reminded that you don't just experience them and move on but rather they become part of the next stage, just as the foundation of a building is part of the building, just as the root of the tree is part of the tree. The lessons of the beloved, cowboy, warrior, lover are all wrapped up in being a king. They are what make the king stage possible. Therefore they are to be revisited and affirmed.
This is perfection...this is the path to righteousness.
43“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbori and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
MATTHEW 5:43-48
No comments:
Post a Comment