Good morning everyone,

  I pray that each of you are well and centering yourselves in Christ everyday.

  I was reminded this week that perfection is in the eye of the beholder. I was engaged in a wonderful conversation where this subject matter arose. What is perfect? Is perfection your perfect or my perfect? If we asked a hundred people what perfect was, we would get a hundred concepts of perfection. What does this mean? Simple, if we continue to look to ourselves for perfection we will never achieve it. That simple.
  So do we stop trying? No, we are commanded to continue to seek perfection. But, we have again found ourselves going from one extreme to the next. On one hand WE try to achieve perfection based on OUR conception of perfect (likes and dislikes) and on the other hand we quit trying all together. The results, ironically, are the same,  perfection is never achieved.
  So if perfection is the carrot on the end of the string, how do we best pursue it? We do so just like the horse chasing the carrot, we keep our eyes on the prize.    "Pursue as my goal the prize promised by Gods heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you." Philippians 3:14-15.
    In this case it is perfection. Kinda seems like we are back to the question of "who's perfection." As the children of God, the "who" would be God. God is perfection. There is nothing corrupt in Him, therefore nothing from Him could possible be imperfect. When we look for the best way or direction, would it be advantageous for us to focus on the One who is perfection and not ourselves? Until that happens we will only get "as good as it gets." Until we submit to the reality that, "I may not have the answers," we will never chase after perfection. And until we accept that perfection may not look anything like we think it does, we will never see "God enough."
  As we look at the process by which God shows His body what the best way is and what direction to take, we find that submission is at the heart of it all. Submitting to Christ and His leadership. I said Sunday, "only when every person has put aside their agendas and opinion, will the church begin to be the community that is Reaching, Sharing, and Serving." Only then will they begin to find favor with God and man.
  I challenge FBCR to begin to be that community. God is not waiting on us, yet He is inviting us to get involved. Let's stare at the "carrot" for a while and see if we don't have a better outlook. If we ALL do that we will be consumed and concentrated on the same thing. That is community! Let's do it, now!     


Pastor Greg Crawford