J a n e l l e B u r k e
Thursday, February 22
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God
This verse makes a perfectionist like myself cringe. There it is, sin. Perfectionism is trying to be good enough all on your own, never failing. When a perfectionist crumbles and fails it feels as if you are tail-spinning out of control and, you are.
We live in a Facebook kind of world where the expectation is perfection and the lack of it gets a person publicly shamed. If you stare at the highlight reel of others all the day long, one might just think everyone has this perfect life and wonder...why am I so strange? Why do I struggle?
If you look at the 2nd chapter of Romans the word tells us that we will be judged by a righteous God and "repaid" for our works, Jews and Gentiles alike. Paul talks about how "the whole world is guilty." Ok, that sounds super scary. What if I make a mistake? Does this not require me to work hard to be perfect?
"For (ALL) have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." No one can live a life in such a way as to be perfect. At first glance this verse just means failure, but if you keep reading there is hope. In verse 24 the word says, "They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
God shows "restraint". He "passes over" our past sin. He makes us righteous. I can not be perfect, but He is. That is enough. If He loves me enough to forgive, maybe I could extend some grace to myself? Maybe I could rest in His perfection?
As a mom, I totally get it. I look at my kids and I do not expect them to be perfect. I know they are growing and learning. I know they will do wrong things. When they do, I take a teaching moment and then we "pass over" what happened, they learn the lesson and we move on, because I love them. No matter what, they can always come home. You see, that is exactly how it is with God. He loves a sinner like me, like you. You can always come home.
Janelle Burke
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