{"id":27893,"date":"2026-11-12T09:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T14:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=27893"},"modified":"2026-11-12T09:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T14:22:10","slug":"what-is-mine-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=27893","title":{"rendered":"What Is Mine To Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cac.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/What-Is-Mine-to-Do_-11-08-11-14-2026-Week-45-scaled-e1792787189964.png\" alt=\"What Is Mine to Do?\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>  <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"America - A Horse With No Name (Lyrics)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2FV2sPYSluA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Next Right Step&nbsp;<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Thursday, November 12, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Author and pastor Cameron Trimble describes how the wilderness experience of the ancient Israelites is a model for us today:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are living through one of those rare moments in history when large numbers of people feel that a chapter is ending, even though no one can yet describe what comes next\u2026. We don\u2019t really know where we are on this journey, and that uncertainty can feel overwhelming.\u2026 I\u2019m reminded of the book of Exodus, which tells us that Moses led his flock \u201cto the farthest end of the wilderness\u201d (Exodus 3:1).\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of us think of the wilderness as a place people end up when something has gone wrong. We imagine it as a barren stretch between where we were and where we hope to be, a place of delay, testing, and endurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rabbis suggest something different: The wilderness is where people are shaped into a community. The Israelites went into the desert carrying the pain of slavery. They brought habits of fear, scarcity, and dependence. They wanted freedom but still thought like captives. The wilderness didn\u2019t just change where they were. It changed who they were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe that\u2019s why the question, \u201cWhat is ours to do?\u201d feels so hard right now. We think the main challenge is figuring out the right action, but maybe the real challenge is letting this moment shape us.\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of us feel overwhelmed by everything happening in the world. There\u2019s a constant flow of breaking news about crises everywhere. We see suffering as it happens. We watch institutions fail to act and leaders use fear for their own benefit. We know things are serious, but we don\u2019t know how it will all turn out. This can leave us feeling stuck and powerless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People often call this feeling confusion, but I think it\u2019s also exhaustion. There\u2019s a difference. Confusion means not having enough information. Exhaustion comes from carrying more than anyone should have to. <strong>The wilderness takes away the idea that we can hold everything together by ourselves.<\/strong> Maybe that\u2019s one of its gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[Mystic and teacher Howard] Thurman [1899\u20131981] often talked about how important our inner life is for staying present with the pain in the world. He taught that justice movements need more than just plans. They need people who have learned to listen deeply, stay grounded, and act from conviction instead of just reacting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The wilderness teaches us to listen in this way. It slows us down so we can hear what fear has been covering up. It reminds us that discernment isn\u2019t the same as making decisions. Many people look for certainty, but what they really need is attunement. Making decisions is about picking between choices. <strong>Discernment is about noticing what life is asking from us right now\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Israelites did not receive a map through the wilderness. They received manna for a single day. It was enough for the next step and enough for the journey that lay immediately before them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Maybe wisdom still comes to us like that: just enough to help us take the next step.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Reference:<\/strong><br>Cameron Trimble, \u201cWhen the Horizon Disappears,\u201d&nbsp;<em>Oneing<\/em>&nbsp;14,&nbsp;<em>What Is Ours to Do?<\/em>&nbsp;(CAC Publishing, 2026): 92, 93, 95, 97. Available in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/store.cac.org\/products\/oneing-what-is-ours-to-do\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">print<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/store.cac.org\/products\/oneing-what-is-ours-to-do-pdf-download\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PDF download<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Image credit and inspiration<\/strong>: Izzy Spitz, \u201c<strong>hands at work<\/strong>,\u201d 2026, mixed media, felt pen on paper, Placitas, New Mexico.\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/cac.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/What-Is-Mine-to-Do_-11-08-11-14-2026-Week-45-scaled-e1792787189964.png\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to enlarge image<\/a>.\u00a0<em><strong>We each respond to divine invitations in our own way, putting our hands in the soil and planting seeds of care without knowing what will grow, but trusting that each one carries life.<\/strong><\/em>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fapp-link%2Fpost%3Fpublication_id%3D2863497%26post_id%3D215055264%26utm_source%3Dpost-email-title%26utm_campaign%3Demail-post-title%26isFreemail%3Dtrue%26r%3D69zmaq%26token%3DeyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNzk1NzU0NTgsInBvc3RfaWQiOjIxNTA1NTI2NCwiaWF0IjoxNzg5MDUyMjAwLCJleHAiOjE3OTE2NDQyMDAsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yODYzNDk3Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.oCKaPUUQM6_UKpB4nFlCoLzRskSdJQuVgnzD18C3BIo&amp;data=05%7C02%7C%7C4ecd36303825443528ce08df0f4bb9e6%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639246490070766206%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=fBIOLa2h1YNMlzl9U6RXqBY%2FN0XoIg2RzBj12dnOvS8%3D&amp;reserved=0\">\u201cBe Perfect\u201d? Delusion, Exhaustion, or Graced<\/a><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Three Responses to Jesus\u2019 call to \u201cBe perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2F%40bradleyjersak&amp;data=05%7C02%7C%7C4ecd36303825443528ce08df0f4bb9e6%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639246490070822671%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=JtNv9A1jRND4W4Xh%2FhiKYIJWXsduFY%2BN67FBz2ehEAo%3D&amp;reserved=0\">BRADLEY JERSAK<\/a>SEP 10<\/td><td><a 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href=\"https:\/\/na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fapp-link%2Fpost%3Fpublication_id%3D2863497%26post_id%3D215055264%26utm_source%3Dsubstack%26isFreemail%3Dtrue%26submitLike%3Dtrue%26token%3DeyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNzk1NzU0NTgsInBvc3RfaWQiOjIxNTA1NTI2NCwicmVhY3Rpb24iOiLinaQiLCJpYXQiOjE3ODkwNTIyMDAsImV4cCI6MTc5MTY0NDIwMCwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI4NjM0OTciLCJzdWIiOiJyZWFjdGlvbiJ9.q7uefJXipuFMQFuuLvtBf2sCJc2KFGap9cf8WRDZPOo%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Demail-reaction%26r%3D69zmaq&amp;data=05%7C02%7C%7C4ecd36303825443528ce08df0f4bb9e6%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639246490070963172%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=bNsInqbneirWKeq2X5VxoIFAwOZqjWXwcZ%2FwNI%2FQMpY%3D&amp;reserved=0\"><\/a><a 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href=\"https:\/\/na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fopen.substack.com%2Fpub%2Fbradleyjersak124315%2Fp%2Fbe-perfect-delusion-exhaustion-or%3Futm_source%3Demail%26redirect%3Dapp-store-no-desktop%26inbox%3Dtrue%26utm_campaign%3Demail-read-in-app&amp;data=05%7C02%7C%7C4ecd36303825443528ce08df0f4bb9e6%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639246490071135369%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=e7pjhg6oMw4rNLCs639oc%2FoJhmjB%2FCFXjBQkQRGmcDA%3D&amp;reserved=0\">READ IN APP<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fredirect%2F549d9ef1-bebb-4931-ab92-1028b52d95b3%3Fj%3DeyJ1IjoiNjl6bWFxIn0.p2HZRNkXKPuP-Fxa781NvzGZhkVUuGwokXOm6NpkKNw&amp;data=05%7C02%7C%7C4ecd36303825443528ce08df0f4bb9e6%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639246490071179745%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=OyYoZAAobalUgZ1K2uaNPDvliZ%2FsDGsXbfmQzoHmcqE%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!aiN3!,w_534,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F90949ebf-b5da-4044-8170-e6bb6cb82795_1492x1372.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fra Angelico &#8211; 15th c.&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Question:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In light of Christ\u2019s revelation of God\u2019s saving grace, how are we to understand his statement,&nbsp;<em>\u201cBe perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect\u201d?<\/em>&nbsp;(Matthew 5:48)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The \u201cPerfect Man\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Was there ever a \u201cperfect man\u201d\u2014fully sanctified and completely sinless?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bp. Chris E.W. Green told me a story (I hope I get it write) about a Holiness Pentecostal Church where \u201ccomplete sanctification\u201d in this life was the dream of every member. He described the annual New Year\u2019s Eve service where people would confess their sins publicly\u2026 but one man, sitting aloof in his own bring-you-own lawn-chair would announce,&nbsp;<em>\u201cI went the whole year without sinnin\u2019\u2026 again.\u201d&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This occurred year after year until one day, he proclaimed,&nbsp;<em>\u201cI went the whole year without sinnin\u2019\u2026 again\u2026 But the Lord tol\u2019 me if I stayed here, I would.\u201d&nbsp;<\/em>Then he stood, folded up his lawn-chair, and left. For good.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I may not have this tale just right, but why ruin a good story with the facts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Deluded Perfectionism or Exhausted Failure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine trying to be the&nbsp;<em>perfect<\/em>&nbsp;human! Imagine striving to be perfect like Jesus was perfect! Imagine trying to be as perfect as God himself! If we were to take Jesus literally there, we\u2019d either be deluded in our perfectionism or exhausted failures all the time. It\u2019s just not possible and even seems completely pointless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Religious or moral perfectionism makes for a fragile faithfulness \u2026 fraught with peril and freighted with crushing burdens. The self-righteous are forever just one slip from moral catastrophe and spiritual despondency, or so you\u2019d think. I call this&nbsp;<em>\u201cspiritual constipation.\u201d&nbsp;<\/em>Surely, there\u2019s a laxative for that!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Grace as a Loophole<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For this reason, some of the great Reformers such as Martin Luther preached that the impossibility of perfect obedience was the whole point of Jesus\u2019&nbsp;<em>Sermon on the Mount<\/em>. He theorized that the impossibly high standards of righteousness would lead us to despair and convince us to cast ourselves on grace. This reading became a loophole that would allow us<em>&nbsp;<\/em>to&nbsp;<em>not&nbsp;<\/em>follow Jesus\u2014if by follow we mean&nbsp;<em>obey<\/em>&nbsp;(which became a swearword for many in the grace movement). Worse, some preachers even asserted that Jesus\u2019 teachings were \u201cold covenant\u201d and that endeavouring to obey them&nbsp;<em>denied the gospel!&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m not so sure. Consider the end of Jesus\u2019 message, where he insists that the wise person who builds their house on the rock&nbsp;<em>hears Jesus\u2019 words and puts them into practice<\/em>. As James says in his letter (a beautiful commentary on Jesus\u2019 teaching),&nbsp;<em>\u201cbe doers of the word and not hearers only.<\/em>\u201d So, I\u2019d rather not simply ride the pendulum from perfectionism all the way to finding the loopholes to ignoring Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cBe Perfect\u201d = Telos, fulfillment, completion, maturity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>How then shall we hear the words, \u201cBe perfect.\u201d It seems that this translation creates confusion because the word for perfect there is derived from the Greek\u00a0<em>telos \u2026\u00a0<\/em>usually translated as \u201cend\u201d as in fulfillment, completion or maturity. The\u00a0<em>telos\u00a0<\/em>of an acorn is an oak tree. The\u00a0<em>telos\u00a0<\/em>of a lamb is a sheep. And the\u00a0<em>telos\u00a0<\/em>of mature humanity is to reflect the image of God, revealed in Christ as self-giving love, grace and mercy, generosity and hospitality. In other words, J<strong>esus is challenging his disciples to \u201cgrow up\u201d as children who imitate their Father\u2019s graciousness.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This becomes more obvious in context \u2026 here\u2019s the passage in&nbsp;<em>The Message&nbsp;<\/em>Bible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cYou\u2019re familiar with the old written law, \u2018Love your friend,\u2019 and its unwritten companion, \u2018Hate your enemy.\u2019 I\u2019m challenging that. I\u2019m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your&nbsp;<strong>true selves<\/strong>, your&nbsp;<strong>God-created selves<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cThis is what God does. He gives his best\u2014the sun to warm and the rain to nourish\u2014to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cIn a word, what I\u2019m saying is,&nbsp;<em><strong>Grow up<\/strong><\/em><strong>.<\/strong>&nbsp;You\u2019re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your&nbsp;<strong>God-created identity<\/strong>. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.\u201d Matthew 5:43-48&nbsp;<em>(The Message)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Growing in Generous Grace via Inner Transformation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So our\u00a0<em>telos\u00a0<\/em>does\u00a0<em>not\u00a0<\/em>look like moralistic perfection or puritanical judgments. <strong>Growing\u00a0<em>by grace<\/em>\u00a0into our\u00a0<em>telos\u00a0<\/em>looks exactly like the\u00a0<em>generous grace<\/em>\u00a0of our heavenly Father, achieved not through striving to look right or be right, but through surrender to the transforming grace of God\u2019s indwelling Spirit.<\/strong> <strong>The more we receive the Light of God\u2019s generous grace, the more our lives will refract that Light into the world as God\u2019s indiscriminate kindness.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I<strong>n the end, our takeaway is that the\u00a0<em>telos\u00a0<\/em>Jesus calls for is Spirit-empowered, Abba-like grace, not a hopeless and self-defeating perfectionism. Jesus assures his followers that growing into that life of grace comes as we follow him on the\u00a0<em>Jesus Way.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Next Right Step&nbsp; Thursday, November 12, 2026 Author and pastor Cameron Trimble describes how the wilderness experience of the ancient Israelites is a model for us today: We are living through one of those rare moments in history when large numbers of people feel that a chapter is ending, even though no one can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27893"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27893"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27896,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27893\/revisions\/27896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}