Message from Gary

Greetings from your Pastor

 As we surveyed our flower gardens we noticed that our Azalea tree was not budding out. We feared that it had not survived the winter. Our hope was that it was just a late bloomer but as the days passed we thought that it had died. There was one leaf sprouting on the trunk but the limbs were bear. On visiting a local greenhouse we inquired about our Azalea tree. The advice given to us was to give it a little time. "It has been an early spring and many shrubs and trees have responded but not all," she said. So we waited. As we looked at the tree this morning it has leafed out and looks quite healthy.

 In a parable that Jesus tells there is a fig tree that hasn't produced any fruit in three years (Luke 13:6-9). The owner commands the gardener to get rid of it because it is useless. The gardener responds that he will work the soil, fertilize, prune and water it to see if in the next season it might respond favourably. The owner allows the gardener to do this. We never hear the rest of the story. The parable does carry similar advice as our expert at the green house: give it a little more time.

 John Wesley wrote about Christian perfection believing that we could attain the perfection that Jesus spoke about when Jesus said, be perfect even as God is perfect. This was Wesley's way of speaking about sanctification. Sanctification is that process whereby God is continually forming the image of God in us. Paul stated it in this way, the One who began a good work in you will carry it to completion. (Philippians 1:6) Through the power and work of God's Holy Spirit God continues that work within us.

 In this transformation we are become more and more the people God created us to be - a people who would reflect God in everything that we do. Our Azalea tree has a specific look, a specific flower. It is becoming what God created it to be. With a little pruning, some watering and fertilizer it will be closer to God's design. As Holy Spirit continues Spirit work in us we come closer to God's intention for us.

In Christ's service

Gary