A Note from the Pastor
When Christians Get It Right
Over the past few weeks, our sermon series has invited us to reflect on the ways Christians sometimes get it wrong. The goal was never to shame us or leave us discouraged, but to help us become more like Jesus. As followers of Jesus, our desire is to reflect Him well. So, what does it look like when Christians do get it right?
I think it often looks quieter and gentler than we expect. It looks like kindness in a harsh world. It looks like patience when it would be easier to be irritated. It looks like choosing compassion over judgment, humility over pride, and grace over condemnation. And it looks like seeing people not as problems to fix or opponents to defeat, but as human beings deeply loved by God and made in the image of God.
In Ephesians 4:32 (NLT), we are told to “be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” That kind of grace is not weakness. It is one of the clearest signs that Jesus is at work in us.
Every day, we have opportunities to reflect that grace in small but meaningful ways: in how we speak to a family member, how we respond to a stranger, how we treat someone who is struggling, or how we carry ourselves when we disagree. Faithfulness is not only found in big moments. It is often revealed in ordinary, day-to-day ones.
My hope for us as a church is not that we would be perfect, but that we would look more and more like Jesus. May we be people who make room for others, who speak with gentleness, who lead with mercy, and who remind those around us, by both word and action, that the grace of God is real.
Blessings,
Chris Hardy, Associate Pastor
Over the past few weeks, our sermon series has invited us to reflect on the ways Christians sometimes get it wrong. The goal was never to shame us or leave us discouraged, but to help us become more like Jesus. As followers of Jesus, our desire is to reflect Him well. So, what does it look like when Christians do get it right?
I think it often looks quieter and gentler than we expect. It looks like kindness in a harsh world. It looks like patience when it would be easier to be irritated. It looks like choosing compassion over judgment, humility over pride, and grace over condemnation. And it looks like seeing people not as problems to fix or opponents to defeat, but as human beings deeply loved by God and made in the image of God.
In Ephesians 4:32 (NLT), we are told to “be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” That kind of grace is not weakness. It is one of the clearest signs that Jesus is at work in us.
Every day, we have opportunities to reflect that grace in small but meaningful ways: in how we speak to a family member, how we respond to a stranger, how we treat someone who is struggling, or how we carry ourselves when we disagree. Faithfulness is not only found in big moments. It is often revealed in ordinary, day-to-day ones.
My hope for us as a church is not that we would be perfect, but that we would look more and more like Jesus. May we be people who make room for others, who speak with gentleness, who lead with mercy, and who remind those around us, by both word and action, that the grace of God is real.
Blessings,
Chris Hardy, Associate Pastor
