June 28 - Imperfect bliss
Scripture focus: We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do we know? We tried it-and we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen! Convinced that no human being can please God by self-improvement, we believed in Jesus as the Messiah so that we might be set right before God by trusting in the Messiah, not by trying to be good. Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?) And are you ready to make the accusation that since people like me, who go through Christ in order to get things right with God, aren't perfectly virtuous, Christ must therefore be an accessory to sin? The accusation is frivolous. If I was "trying to be good," I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a charlatan. Galatians 2:16-18, (The Message)
Do you have a system that you're trusting in to keep you on track?
It feels so good when it seems to be working, doesn't it?
But what happens when what worked for us in the past fails us?
We have a few choices.
We can decide that the system failed us, and we need a new system. We can conclude that we're failures and no system can compensate for what we lack. We can listen to God, who reminds us in countless ways and through many people that a relationship is not built on principles and guidelines, but is established by trust and love.
I've never been able to sustain "trying to be good." But I understand the desire to try that strategy out. If you're one of the folks, like me, who've about given up on self-effort, it's my prayer that you not fall into the shame inflamed trap of believing that failure to be good means that you're a loser. Instead, I pray that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened, and you'll realize that failure is part of the human condition, not a reason to give up.
Recommended reading: 1 Corinthians 14-16
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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community
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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community
1 comment:
Without the failures of my life how would I know the sucesses.
Without the failures of self would I have had to trust God.
Today I embrace failure as something that can happen, not as what defines me.
The more I believe I trust the less I try to be good.
You can build a system to stay on track, build trust in God for the derailments.
Just thoughts for today.
God Bless
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