Submitted by Pastor Julie Sanders,

Tarkio and Westboro United Methodist Churches

So, here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what He does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. Romans 12:1-3

We live in a world that is constantly asking us to change how we define ourselves as Christians. It is constantly pushing us out of our comfort zone and into unchartered waters. In a world that is ever changing its ideals, opinions and beliefs it is hard to be in the world and not get caught up in all the ideals that the world continues to demand of us.

Of course, there are two opposing forces that are constantly at play. I would like to think that it is as simple as the old cartoons that have the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. This doesn’t seem to be the case any longer, it’s not as cut and dried as it once seemed to be. Instead, it is the world view against the Christian view, with so many of us seemingly stuck in the middle.

What does it mean for us to live as God’s disciples in today’s world that seems to have blurred so many lines? If we give into an ideal, does it mean that we have conformed to this world? These are great questions but before we can answer these questions, we need to ask ourselves: is this going to cause me to discard a basic belief within myself? In other words, if I choose to act in this way or decide in this way, am I compromising who I am spiritually?

If we are truly living out our Christian call, then we should strive to do right to everyone and this means that we must also offer grace and love in instances that maybe we can’t compromise. Not compromising our beliefs does not mean that we don’t understand. There seems to be no easy answers left for us in this world but God always gives us the answers when we seek him. In all things continue to seek him to find that we are on the right course.

Our community has a proud heritage of a close-knit family atmosphere. Our churches are known for inviting all those who come into our doors. I am sure that we will continue to be churches that hold firm to our Christian truths, all the while, extending love and grace even in places we disagree. I am confident that as we continue to learn how to navigate the waters of today, we will do so on the cornerstone of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May the love, grace and peace of Jesus Christ be with each of you.