Week 3 Saturday

Peace and Progress

Today’s scripture selection: Romans 5-6

Key verses: Romans 5:1-5

     The Christian life is a two-sided coin.

On the one side, we have been given a gift, pure and simple.  God’s grace-filled love comes to us, not because we have earned it; not because we are good enough; not because we are owed it – it comes just because God delights in giving it to us.

On the other side, we have a long way to go.  We are imperfect, often selfish; it’s far easier for even the best of us to love ourselves more than we love others.  And loving God?  Too often it’s an afterthought, something set aside for Sunday services or after a particularly great day.  And all the while, life confronts us with all sorts of challenges – many of them painful.  So, we have to go about the long process of making our way to heaven.  As the old hymns put it, we are just “pilgrims passing through,” doing the best we can until one day we can rest in the “promised land.”

     It may seem like those two aspects of life don’t belong together – a grace-filled life and a long, difficult journey.  But I think they belong together. 

It’s all about peace and progress.

God loves us so much he has showered us with a love that cannot be conquered or vanquished, even by death itself.  But God also wants us to be all He created us to be, not just poor, pitiful creatures in need of saving.  Our heavenly father wants us to be His most glorious creations, spiritually pure and strong; capable of freely and joyfully living out His purposes for us.  And that means he has something almost unimaginably glorious planned for us for all eternity.  So, for a little while – these short years that pass so clearly – we have to learn some things; we have to endure some things.

“For we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

Peace and progress.

So, meet the day’s challenges – large and small – knowing that you are making progress.  Find God’s peace and grace along the way.  And one day, it will all make perfect sense.

 

Prayer:  Lord, help me to find your peace in the midst of my progress.  AMEN. 

Paul Simrell's avatar

By Paul Simrell

The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program. Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

Leave a comment