But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8(NIV) Do you think God is angry with you because you aren’t perfect in his eyes? You keep struggling with a particular sin, or maybe you don't pray long prayers like other Christians, and you can't remember the last time you fasted. You are tired of disappointing your heavenly Father. If only you could do things correctly, then God would not be angry with you, at least that is what you think. Honestly, we’ve all been there. In a world where people love showing off their best lives on social media, and success is measured by how perfect your life seems, it is easy to find yourself chasing after perfectionism even in your spiritual walk. We are afraid of unleashing our imperfect side because that is not cool. It will not trend, or we won't get likes and comments. So we hold off certain things like starting a business or relationship, helping someone, and taking on that project because we think we are not qualified to do it. On the other hand we are doing every possible thing to please God so that he can love us. Why? Other Christians on social media seem to have it all together. They pray and read the Bible more than us according to the stories and photos they share. They are serving in great ministries and are doing great things for the Kingdom of God. When our friends tell us they pray at midnight or read the Bible for one hour, we also go ahead and do it without asking God for revelation and guidance. We forget that they are only telling us or sharing what they want us to see and not their whole lives. We think we are big failures before God; we want to keep up or exceed what they are doing. So we end up being frustrated. But let us be honest: We are not perfect people. None of us are. We make mistakes, and we will continue making mistakes as long as we live in this fallen world. That doesn’t license us to live sloppy lives. Every child of God needs to live a life of excellence because we are the light and salt of the world. (Romans 6:14-17) The good news: Our Father loves us unconditionally even though we are not perfect. If other people don’t love you for who you are, know that the creator of the universe does. He doesn’t want you to attain perfection before you start serving him; God wants you to go to him with all your imperfections. But why does God love us even though we are not perfect? And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16(NIV) God is Love Our definition of love differs significantly from God's definition. We love people based on our emotions or because we are attracted to them. This means that our love is conditional because feelings change. But that is not the case with our heavenly Father. One of his main attributes is love. God doesn’t love us because we are good people; he loves us because he is love. It is his nature to love, so he cannot deny himself; that is why he gave up his only son for us. His Son Jesus God loves you because of his son Jesus Christ. Since you have accepted Jesus and made Him Lord of your life, when God sees you, he sees Jesus. Your heavenly Father doesn't see your imperfection; he sees the same perfection in his son on you because you are like Jesus. (1 John 4:17) Jesus died on the cross for us and paid for all our sins. You have been set free from your past, present, and future sins. We have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus; it is not by our own efforts. Stop trying measure up to other people’s standards. Your Father wants to have a personal relationship with you. Do not compare yourself to other people instead allow God to deal with your heart and work through you. Take your eyes off yourself and look at Jesus, who has made you perfect. The more you look at him, the more you become like him. But if you keep focusing on your own perfection, you will keep messing up. We are his creation Sounds obvious, right? But the truth is sometimes we get so caught up in ourselves that we overlook this important fact, we are God’s beautiful creation. Yes, the all-knowing God knew we would not be perfect people. Yet, he still went ahead and created Adam and Eve. Why? He wanted to pour out his love on us. God's love for humanity can in a way be compared to the love between a good parent and their child. Are children always perfect? No, they aren't, but good parents are always there for them. They don't like the bad things their children do or take them through, but parents still love their children and ensure to take good care of them. They don’t abandon their children, they correct them. Likewise, God loves us unconditionally because we are his children. God knows you inside out; he knows that you are bound to make mistakes and is never caught by surprise when you mess up. But he will never leave you as long as you accept his son Jesus Christ and continue living according to his word. We have an enemy that will always remind us of our faults because he wants us to fail. The enemy would like for you to focus on your own perfection and not the one that has been given to you freely through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. But we can't do much on our own in this fallen world. We need a perfect savior, and that is Jesus Christ, God’s greatest gift to humanity. Stop looking at what the world has to offer. Look at Jesus, the author, and perfecter of your faith. (Hebrews 12:2) If you are struggling with a particular sin, go to him, and he will help you to conquer that sin. Do everything to glorify God and not self or other people. Shop Grown Folk Motto at www.grownfolkmotto.com
3 Comments
10/14/2019 10:56:15 pm
I wish I know how to help someone I love but I am just so tired. I have been helping for almost a decade now and yet the progress remained really slow. I couldn't leave him back then when I still have the chance because I thought I don't mind if the progress is slow as long as it's still there. Lately I realized I wasted a lot of precious years in my life. Life is indeed too short. I am not blaming anyone because it's my fault. I am the one who decided to stay with him. Maybe at some point I was the desperate one.
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11/30/2019 12:25:21 am
The world is a big house of manipulation. Everything you see and hear is real. They are at the same time unreal. It's hard to tell which one is real and which one is just there for you to just see and not be able to touch or use. Sometimes it totally had nothing to do with whether you deserve it or not. You are part of a big puzzle and each one of us will be playing an important role. Each piece no matter how small or big, is equally useful to the bigger picture. Without it, everything will fall apart.
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