not being, but becoming

my eyes have been opened quite wide this week to all the blessings God has placed in my life. for some reason, a lot has become very clear this week as to what is important in life and to embrace my Heavenly Father and His divine, unchanging plan. in the past week, there have been several friends of mine or families within our church that are dealing with deaths and serious health issues that constantly remind me that our life here on earth is fading quickly. when you realize the reality & truly face it (too often we deny the reality of death), every little second of life becomes much sweeter. i pray that i would not become numb to the mundane"ness" of life. everyone has the opportunity to impact others no matter where you are from, what you do, or how much money you make. no one is too far from God's grace. it's around you, grab it. though we are weak, He is strong (II Corinthians 12:10).

last night i started a BASICS class going over the basics, meat & potatoes, of being a disciple of christ. very encouraging and i am very excited to deepen my relationship with God through gaining knowledge of God's word. last night, steve, our young adult pastor, discussed the importance of having people who love you well, around you; otherwise, you will continually live a disfunctional life. Loving well, means having people in your life who can speak the truth, in love, to you. It is easy to get stuck in pride & selfishness, shutting people out...the result? degrowth. bitterness. depression. self-pity. resentment. negativity. i desire to live a fruit-producing life. active & growing. however, this is not possible on my own. alone i am weak. only with God's strength can I even begin the path towards righteousness. One of my favorite quotes is by Martin Luther:

"This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health, but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it, the process is not yet finished, but it is going on, this is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified."

holding on to the eternal hope we have in christ WILL automatically produce fruit. TRUSTING GOD is the KEY.