Church Family Update - June 23, 2020

Relaunch Update:

Our council has been hard at work over the past weeks putting together a plan to partially reopen our Sunday morning services starting this Sunday, June 28. You can look forward to more detailed communication later this week.  

A Devotional Thought:

“But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.” 1 Corinthians 4:3

Think for a moment about the massive implications of that short little verse. Paul is basically saying, “Not only do I not care what other people think about me, I don’t even care what I think about myself.” That’s true freedom.

Many of us spend far too much time wondering what other people think about us. We want to be liked and respected. And so we base our self-worth on our perception of the opinions of others. 

On the other hand, many of us spend far too much time evaluating ourselves. We replay conversations in our heads and evaluate our words. We judge ourselves harshly when we fail to live up to our own standards. 

This is what makes Paul’s statement so amazing and liberating. He says that he doesn’t waste his time thinking about the opinions of others. And he doesn’t waste his time overanalyzing himself and beating himself up for his shortcomings. 

Rather, the only opinion that ultimately matters to Paul is God’s opinion and God has already spoken his opinion. He has lovingly received us into his family based on the merits of his perfect son, Jesus Christ. That’s the only opinion that matters and it’s from that opinion that we find our self-worth. That’s true freedom!

So next time you find yourself walking down a mental path of worrying about what others think about you, or when you start beating yourself up for not living up to your own standard, remind yourself of this verse and walk in the freedom that’s yours in Christ Jesus. 

Enjoy your freedom today!

Pastor Jason