Casandra Martin

Can you define the word integrated? Integrated is one of those interesting words. It means “to bring together or incorporate parts into a whole.” As a society, we talk about integrated technology – technology that is woven into every area of our lives. Educators discuss integrating curriculum and learning disciplines. Health providers talk about the need to integrate wellness and preventative care into the healing process. When we integrate, we stop looking at something as individual pieces and fit them together to work as a whole.

The transformation that God is working in us is all about integration. It is about bringing all of the different pieces of our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths under the authority of Christ. Integration comes from the root word integer, which means “whole.” That is what God wants for us. He wants us to be whole. Not broken. Not fractured. Not falling to pieces. Not flying off in a million directions.  Whole. Complete. Full. Put together in Him.

My Jesus Resolution today is to surrender to integration. I want every part of my life to line up with Jesus. My inconsistencies reveal where I need more integration. My faith needs to be as much about living a God-centered life as it is about speaking God’s name. I want Jesus to be integrated into my conversations, my choices, my motives, my attitudes, and my actions. Integration is the harder, longer, requires-deep-obedience, abundant, joy-filled path. It demands daily dying to self and learning to live in Him, through Him, with Him, and for Him.