"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of god in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:12-14

What an awesome passage written by the Apostle Paul. It is such a great reminder for every person who is a child of God no matter how long they have been following Him. I think is a passage that every believer should read every single day to remind them of one important fact. NOBODY HAS ARRIVED YET!

I am trying to remind myself of this daily. Why? Because I am going through a difficult time in which I feel that some people very close to me have wronged me. I find myself talking to myself while I am driving around town or outside working saying things like, "I would never do what they are doing!" or "They are going to have to answer to God on this one someday and I hope he nails them!" Things they have said to me have cut me deeply and even caused me to doubt myself. I feel like they are spinning things to try to keep everything in control and I am being asked to be quiet and take it for the sake of unity. So......I must stop and remind myself that I have not arrived where Christ wants me to be nor have they. So even if some of what I feel is true I must love them well even if I disagree with them and I must remember that they have not arrived where Christ wants them. 

Imagine what could happen in a church if everybody had that same mindset. What a powerful witness that would be. A church that is ever mindful that they are in a process called sanctification. A process that is continual and will never be complete until Christ calls us to be with him. A process in which we stumble and bumble our way trying to honor God knowing that we will fail and fall yet knowing that there is grace with each other to keep at it.

So here are the words I give to myself and I hope whoever reads this will do likewise: "I am not yet perfect but I am striving to experience the power that raised Christ from the dead in my own life so I will become more like him every single day. Oh, by the way, the others around me are doing the same to cut 'em some slack."

Shalom