From the Pulpit: ‘Remember to love god and love people’
We are officially three months into 2023! Maybe, as you’re reading this, you’re glad that 2022 is behind you. Maybe it was a year full of sorrow, trouble, and anxiety. You are ready for a fresh start! Maybe you’re reading this, and you’re sad to see 2022 go. Maybe it was a year of ascension, triumph, and progression. Whether you are happy or sad, here we are, in the midst of a new year.
I recently heard a teaching by a well-known pastor on beginnings. Whether it’s the beginning of a new project, or the beginning of a new year, this teaching holds true. First, he talked about the ‘A’ Zone, this is the zone we’re all in now. The beginning, the planning, the dreaming, this is the fun zone. This is the zone where we get to dream about our goals and future accomplishments.
However, for the dream to go anywhere, it must move into the ‘B’ Zone. This is the hard zone, the zone where you have to dig your heels in the mud and put in the work. The rubber meets the road here. Instead of planning, we’re acting, instead of dreaming, we’re doing. However, a decision has to be made in this zone. Will we continue to work, or will we give up, retreating back to the ‘A’ Zone, where it’s comfortable and we can dream again? Too many of us do this, we give up when it gets hard. If we are to ever see our dreams accomplished, we must “Press on toward the goal”, as the Apostle Paul would write.
If we press on, we enter into the ‘’’ Zone. This is the zone of accomplishment. Everything we’ve been working so hard for all year is accomplished here in this zone. In this zone, the weight has been lost, our marriages are healthier, the promotion has been given.
I’m not sure what you resolve to do this year, but whatever it is, let us see it through! As I close, I remember God’’ resolve for ALL of us. “‘Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Mark 12:30-31). Whatever we resolve to do this year, let us all remember to Love God and Love People
