Working toward 'Perfection'...



This might come as a surprise to you, but you’re not perfect. Neither am I. {sigh} And no matter how hard we try (and we should be always trying) (2 Corinthians 7:1), we will never achieve perfection. (Ecclesiastes 7:20) However, working towards this perfection, or holiness, implies maturity in your faith. God has given us all we need—the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:2); however as we discussed last week, He allows distractions to keep us focused on Him and eternity. (1 Corinthians 10:13) I’ve found that when things are going good, and I’m comfortable, I easily become bored, and then I tend to slip. I skip a day of Bible study; which leads to another and before I know it, I haven’t opened my Bible in two weeks…and things don’t look so great, and my mood and attitude are far from Christ-like… Life’s distractions easily cause us to sin. (Genesis 4:7) But the true test of our maturity is how we handle our sin. Do we repent with remorse like Peter, or do we in essence commit suicide like Judas? (Hebrews 6:1)

Are you taking the discomfort He’s put in your life (to shake up your complacency) and using it to not only grow in your own Christian walk, but to also help others?  God doesn’t excuse your sin, He uses it. He allows you to live by example of how messed up you can be, and still have a relationship with Jesus. (1 Corinthians 1:4) Too often we depend on ourselves when life is going well, and only turn to God when we feel we can’t do it alone; when we feel powerless. It’s when we fully rely on God that our faith begins to mature. (2 Corinthians 1:9-10) This attitude of dependence draws us closer to God, rather than further away.

We so easily want to follow the world’s view; but we should be following God’s view. On Earth, as we mature, we become independent. But in Christ, as we mature, we have to become dependent. The closer we draw to God, the closer to perfection we get. (Philippians 3:12)


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