Learning to Be Realistic

Our church is half way through an exciting 40 day adventure, entitled A Purpose Filled Easter. We are utilizing the 40 days leading up to Easter to renew our commitment to God’s purposes in our lives and in our church. As part of this adventure, we are reading The Purpose Driven Life, written by Rick Warren.

In today’s reading, day 21 the author describes the importance of unity within the local church. In the chapter entitled Protecting Your Church a number of scriptures are referenced describing the high importance of making every effort to keep the unity of the local church.

The author talks about the importance of being realistic in our expectations of the church. In my experience, the author is right on target of how easily members of a church can be disillusioned with a church once they realize that the church and the church leaders are not perfect. (By the way, I am a poster child for that truthful statement.)

Rick Warren writes, “We must passionately love the church in spite of its imperfections. Longing for the ideal while criticizing the real is evidence of immaturity. On the other hand, settling for the real without striving for the ideal is complacency. Maturity is living with the tension.” (Warren, The Purpose Driven Life; page 162)

I long to be mature accepting the imperfections of others within the church and yet never become complacent always striving for the ideal and seeking ways for the church to reach its full potential. My encouragement is to every reader to live within the tension that exists between the ideal and the real!

"I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made." (Philippians 3:12-16 NLT)