Our Christ-centered DNA describes the center of who we are as a church. Our mission, vision, model, strategy, and values all come from our DNA which defines who we are, how we do what we do, and why!

This week: Our Value #3 = Excellence

Read Pastor Tito’s Sermon Summaries on https://medium.com/@pastortito

DOING OUT BEST BETTER

Pursuing perfection is not the point

“We should not judge people by their peak of excellence, but by the distance, they have traveled from the point where they started.” Henry Ward Beecher

Deep down we all have hopes and dreams. Some we’ve shared, while some we keep to ourselves because they might sound crazy to others. We all have an idea of what we’d like life to look like, but many people set such extreme expectations on themselves or others that in the end hurts more than it helps.

This pursuit of excellence has been linked to causing people to develop a serious fear of making mistakes. There are parents, bosses, and spouses who treat others, or themselves, with no mercy, leaving no room for error. There are very few people who can survive this kind of pressure. Many end up 100% broken trying to give 110%.

I’m glad that our perfect God is also a merciful God. He knows we’ve all fall short, and so He gives us room to grow and learn from our mistakes through a personal relationship with Him. Jesus gave us His best on the cross, inspiring us to do our best better each day.

Now, through the Holy Spirit, we can approach God and live with no fear when we fall short because He shines brightest through our flaws. For when a child of God does their best better through the Holy Spirit, we display to the world that there is no one better than God!

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8–10 (ESV)

Excellence is not perfection. When we think it is, we tend to focus our efforts on how they make us feel, our actions are done with self-interest, and we fail to extend mercy to others and even ourselves. The Apostle Paul encourages the Church in Ephesus to think differently about how to live their lives. No one is perfect, but everyone can be perfected by the power of God. The beginning of the process is called salvation, and it’s a gift. It isn’t a prize that goes to the best. We could never be good enough or save enough money to earn it. It’s a gift that Jesus paid for on the cross, and it’s called being “saved” because when we receive this gift, we are then saved from the wrath of God. To those who have submitted their lives to Christ through faith, this rescue is fully secured and guaranteed, regardless!

This salvation is a promise for the future, but it’s also the beginning of a process in the present, where God begins to work in us and through us. The Reformation theologian, Martin Luther, echoed Paul’s words here by teaching that we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. True faith is followed by works, which is the way we live and treat others. It is a natural consequence. Paul is making it clear that we are not saved BY our works or efforts, but we are saved FOR works. We are saved to serve others. These works are the proof of salvation, not the path.

Paul finished this thought with a great analogy, describing believers as God’s workmanship. This was a Greek word that resembles a poem or a work of art. Before Christ, our lives were nothing but a random collection of colors or a senseless sequence of words. Now, through Christ, we are His work of art, His masterpiece in the making. He gives our lives rhyme and reason, beauty and balance. Paul says we should walk in these works or express on the outside what God is doing on the inside, not out of fear of failing, but out of the joy of walking with God who is working in us! It is to so freeing to know that we have a God who is able and desires to catch us when we fall.

36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:36–40 (ESV)

Excellence is not perfection, but it is a perception. It is a mindset that others can experience. When we think like this, we focus on how we make others feel instead of focusing on how we feel. We tend to serve the interest of others instead of our own. Best of all, we extend grace instead of ruling without mercy. The people in Jesus’ prediction of the future will be commended before the Father at the judgment of the world because they did their best, not because they were the best. They lived so selflessly that compassion was a habit, blessing God unintentionally while blessing others personally.

The group that Jesus addressed prior to this group was not commended but condemned because they failed to live for others because their faith lacked works. The people in this group cared about themselves, even complaining to Jesus about all that they did for God. Even then, it was still about them. Yes, they did good deeds, but that group thought that their good deeds were good enough. Jesus is warning us that it won’t work out for you if you think your works will save you.

This prediction shows us that our outward evidence reveals our inward righteousness or unrighteousness. Works without faith don’t work. It’s like expecting a dead person to do anything. It’s impossible. But our life-giving faith in Christ what produces good works through us, and those good works end up perfecting our faith the more we walk in them. This kind of faith is void of fear because God will not judge our salvation based on our performance but rather on our position as His child. And children should reflect their Father.

Excellence is not giving 110%. Followers of Jesus should instead view excellence as learning how to do our best better by being 1% better today than yesterday for the glory of God and for the good of others. There are a few questions that can help us apply this to our lives. Am I spiritual, professional, and teachable?

Being spiritual is about being led more and more by the Spirit of God and prioritizing His purpose over our own. Being professional is about living according to the Lord’s standards and giving the best testimony possible throughout our lives. Being teachable is about being a life-long learner, seeking wisdom and able to prayerfully accept correction. Faith in Christ allows us to do our best and trust in Jesus to make up the rest.

There is a painting that was the pride and joy of the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza for more than 100 years. It was a painting by Elias Garcia Martinez called “Ecce Homo” (Behold the Man). After so many years, the painting had begun to fade and wear out. A parishioner volunteered herself to restore the painting. She was given permission by the priest, but one key detail is that his parishioner was not a professional. Instead of restoring the painting, she ended up ruining it! Jesus ended up looking like a cast member from the Planet of the Apes.

We are amateurs, lacking the ability to restore our lives or the lives of others. We won’t always get things right. But God is a Master who never makes a mistake. He didn’t make one with us, even though we’ve all made our fair share of them. Though life’s experiences may cause us to fade and wear out, our God is able to restore us to better than before.

So, may we do our best better while we rest on the fact that your Heavenly Father can re-purpose our faults. This doesn’t mean we are free to fail. It just means that we can live free of fear even when we do. For the love of God is working in us, leading us to be 1% better today compared to yesterday for the glory of God and for the good of others. When we do our best and trust Jesus with the rest, we display to the world that there is no one better than our God.