Warren Fisher, Genesis Sunday School Co-Leader, Member since 1988

 

Romans 3:21-26 

But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.

 

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

Hebrews 10:10

And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Reflection:

As the Christmas season approaches, many of us soon will be struggling to find the “perfect gift” for someone we love. The reality is that few of us will truly succeed in finding the perfect material gifts. We are all blessed, however, by God’s perfect gift, in the form of Jesus Christ, and by God’s gift of perfection itself.

 

Perfection certainly seems beyond our reach. Through our own efforts it surely is. Over the years, I have been fortunate to have attended a number of the ordination services when candidates for ministry are received into full connection as United Methodist clergy. In these worship services, the bishop examines the candidates, including asking the daunting questions “Are you going on to perfection?” and, “Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life?”  John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, asked these questions not just of aspiring clergy but of all lay leaders and workers in the Methodist Societies he organized. An affirmative answer requires a clear understanding of the Wesleyan concepts of sanctifying grace and perfection in love. 

 

Wesley spoke of three forms of grace. First, “prevenient grace”—the grace that comes before…before we know we need it…and eventually convinces us that we are sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. Then, “justifying grace”—the grace by which God grants us pardon and right relationship with him if we will only accept it in faith. And finally, “sanctifying grace”—the grace of the Holy Spirit at work within us as we continue to grow in faith. This sanctifying grace and the work of the Holy Spirit will inevitably fill us with love for God and for our neighbors and to live different, holier lives as a result. 

 

We will never completely eliminate sin from our lives, but by God’s sanctifying grace we can be better and, indeed, go on toward Christian perfection.

 

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you for your perfect gift of Jesus Christ and for your gift of Christian perfection through your sanctifying grace and the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. Help me to continue to grow in holiness, filling me with love for you and for my fellow humans as I go on to perfection. Amen.