Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
This question has been running around my head and bothering me. I understand that humans are imperfect. Perfectionists may try their best, but the end result will never be good enough. In my opinion, perfectionism (not to be confused with determination) is a negative life trait with more outcomes of doubt and self-shame then acceptance and happiness. So how perfect can I be?
Jesus was both God and man and did many great things. So how many of the things Christ did can only be done by God and how many of the things Christ did were guides to the human potential to live a holy life? I may not be able to rub a concoction of dirt and spit in a man’s eyes to cure his blindness, but do I have the potential to treat the outcasts of our society with the same respect that Christ did? The epistle Titus says this: “11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, 12 training us to renounce impiety (sin) and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14 He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.” With “grace of God” equaling the good news of Jesus Christ, imagine what this Bible verse is saying. Out of the salvation given to us by Christ’s death we have an ability to resist. We are by nature imperfect, but Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit has given us the ability to resist against our urge to do the wrong things. So the question remains…what stops me from making the right decisions? I can only ponder and answer this for myself. It is up to the reader to do the same.
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AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
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