Meant to Flourish

by John Crosby, Pastor Emeritus 

I’ve been reminiscing these past months on why I felt called into ministry and how Laura and I have had the privilege of being at CPC almost 30 years . . . and then considering what God has for me in the future. When we’re at a crossroads, it can be easy to be preoccupied with our wants and needs. It brought to mind a coffee I shared with a successful professional. He bluntly stated, “How come I have everything I want and don’t seem to have what I need?” I told him he wasn’t alone, that his disease didn’t originate in the liver or esophagus but in the soul. And then I invited him on a journey.

Together we read Soul Keeping and underlined this quote from Dallas Willard: “The most important thing in your life is not what you do; it’s who you become. That’s what you will take into eternity. You are an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.” Who are we becoming? And how do we flourish, here and now? Our problem is that this world does not teach us to pay attention to what matters. John Ortberg observed, “We circulate résumés that chronicle what we have accomplished, not who we have become. . . . The world conspires against our souls, keeping our lives superficial.”

My friend is still on the journey, with me and a couple of others. I see small signs of a life that’s flourishing: A renewed love for wife and kids. A growing humility at work. A generosity he’d have thought lunacy a year ago. A growing hunger to hear God speak, whether through Scripture or prayer or the gathering of his new friends. And in small, flickering ways, a contentedness rooted in HOPE, hope like the Apostle Paul describes: “Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Romans 5:5, RSV).

This month we’re going to talk about FLOURISHING and how CPC wants to partner with you in the work of God. As we head toward Thanksgiving, I’m praying that part of the legacy we’ll leave in this community is a growing number of hearts that share with outrageous generosity, serve with creativity, and joyously seek Jesus . . . flourishing within as we live out our eternal destiny!