Forgiven and on the transformation journey.

   
    Do you want to be perfect? Some doctrines teach we can be free from all sin. The definition of perfect includes such notions as flawless, without fault, essential in all detail, lacking in no requirement and possessing supreme moral character. In every age there are cults which promise perfection. In Paul's day the Greek Mystery religions enticed people to join in secret rituals to become superior to normal people in knowledge, spiritual experience, and moral attainment.  This desire to claim perfection and a superior state than regular folks is a popular illusion.
     Scientology is a modern cult cloaked in secret teaching only for insiders. The leaders isolate members on 6 month cruises to immerse them in hidden doctrines. This group claims to help people achieve immortality and a superior plane of existence. They target wealthy and famous celebrities who already tend to believe the illusion of their own superiority. It is very expensive to be involved and no one can question the authority of the supreme leader. It is not based on science, but upon the science fiction writings of L. Ron Hubbard. We must be aware of cults of perfection which only inflate the ego and fill us with arrogance.
     In Philippians 3:12 the Apostle Paul addressed perfectionism. The early Christians were being enticed by the Mystery religions. Paul denies he will ever be perfect. He compares himself to a runner in a marathon race. A runner never finishes the race until the course is over.
We never arrive in this life at a complete level of spiritual attainment or knowledge. We will only arrive when we pass from this human life into the presence of our Judge and Redeemer.
      In Matthew 5:48 the Lord Jesus does call upon us to be perfect as our Heavenly Father. This Greek word also used by Paul means to be fully grown up in our adulthood. This is the call of God to keep growing in wisdom, understanding, service and courage as long as we have life.  I can never become perfect. I am a forgiven child of God who is called to be fruitful and faithful. In the power of the Holy Spirit we can find strength to grow to forgive all people and not just react to their hurtful actions.
      As followers of Christ we have the summons to become like our Creator Father. This is a journey of growing in insight and self awareness.  The closer we come to Christ the more we are aware of our flaws, limited knowledge and faults. Instead of growing arrogant with spiritual progress we become humbly conscious of our need for His mercy. This is good news. We do not need to pretend to be more than we are. The Lord accepts us where we are if we have a willing spirit to serve Him and to be transformed by His grace. The Lord wants us to do our best daily to stay connected to Him.
As humans we will make mistakes, blunder and sin in spite of our best intentions. In His mercy we pick ourselves up and learn even from our wounds and sins. We are not called to be perfect in the way of this world such as Scientology. We are called to love mercy, practice kindness and walk humbly with our God. We can let go of this terrible burden of perfectionism right now. We are forgiven and on the journey of transformation to become a better person.
     

What is the cost of having it all?

    Our Lord's great test is recorded in Luke 4:1-13. What is temptation?  One definition is "to entice to do wrong by promise of pleasure or gain."  To entice is ,"to attract artfully or by arousing hope or desire." These dynamics remind me of the way Jesus was promised all the power, glory and riches of earthly kingdoms if  he would worship Satan. This is a huge temptation. Who would not desire unlimited wealth and power?
      Satan promises immediate gratification of our desires, sensual pleasures with no responsibility, fast and easy money.  Is this what our society means when it talks about having it all?
Power, money and sensual pleasure are all good creations of our Heavenly Father. Human desires are given by God in His creation. If we put these desires above the moral commands of God then we get in trouble.
    Satan promises us all our physical and ego desires will be satisfied if we will only worship him.  Worship is, "extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem." In this regard some people worship the "Almighty Dollar".   Satanic rituals are not required to worship the Devil.  To be devoted to the Evil One is to practice deceit, admire his attitude of rebellion, and believe his promises.  Worldly people show in their behavior the belief they will gain more in life from Satan than from obeying the Lord.
    We worship Satan when we trust that he will reward us more than the Heavenly Father. Who has the most fun and satisfaction? Satan never created even one pleasure, all he does is distort and ruin our pleasures. Satan's big illusion is that success is delivered by following his practices. This means we will lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, con, threaten and defraud others to get what we want. It matters not who we hurt. Does the end justifies the means? Winning at all costs compromises our souls.
     Jesus refused by quoting Deut. 6:13, "You shall fear the Lord and serve him only." The context of this verse is to warn us about serving idols who will destroy us. We can forget the source of all our blessings is the Lord.  We can be blinded by our affluence and forget our Creator.  Jesus shows us that a humble devotion to our Heavenly Father is where true success and fulfillment as a person are found.
     Maybe Jesus was thinking of this time of tempting when he warns us, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26.   Jesus took the road of obedient self sacrifice so that we could gain forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.  He gives us true wealth and abiding riches.

The Journey of Transformation

      As we grow in knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures in worship and small groups remember though that religious education is not an end in itself. The goal of our study, prayers and fellowship is behavior transformed to be like our Lord.  In our humanity we will never fully arrive! But by seeking transformation we can make progress.
     In our spiritual journey we move from one polarity to the opposite. This direction from the negative to the positive is life long.  We are not transformed just by cleansing our soul of the negatives. We must replace them with positive choices and energy.
     Here are a few  ways we all can observe our progress in transformation. If we are honest we will admit we need more movement toward the positive virtues. Let me suggest the following tensions and directions.
      Each of these polarities  we can let go of the negative and move towards positive actions: from greed to generosity, from being controlled by fear to courage, from sexual lust to respectful honor, from bitter anger to merciful forgiveness, from a victim outlook to creative responsibility for happiness, from pretending/hiding to an honesty about who we are, from worry and anxiousness to more confident trust in God, from procrastination to an active fulfillment of present duties, from indifference to a caring effort to help the suffering, from self-pity to a joyful engagement with the present moment, from partiality and prejudice to kindness towards all people, from despair over past sins to peaceful awareness of forgiveness, from arrogant pride to humble awareness of need, from condemnation of others to compassion, from dictating to others to learn acceptance and service.
     This is a tall order for our fallible and frail humanity. The strength for such a journey comes not from within ourselves. It comes from keeping our focus on the teachings and mercy of Christ. As we focus our attention on Him then His Spirit changes us from within.
      2 Corinthians 3:18 gives us hope of being changed into better people as we keep the Lord first in our life,  "And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this come form the Lord , the Spirit". As we experience the transformation of the Spirit by investing in positive choices we will grow reflect the light of Christ in our world. We need not stay stuck in the negative past.