Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Who Said You Have To Be Perfect?

"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you. from the power of sin that leads to death." Romans 8: 1-2, NLT
There are many people in the world who are living the lie that they have to be perfect.
Perfect for what? Anything, but especially God.
Maybe you had strict parents growing up. They had high expectations of you and wanted everything in your life to work out "just right". And maybe, along with that, you had a sibling that they constantly compared you to.
Maybe you grew up feeling loved by your parents, but you endured being bullied at school. You were never good enough for any of those kids. 
OR maybe all of that was good.... but you went to church and heard about God and felt like you weren't perfect enough to really follow Him. Maybe you faked your way through church for years, never feeling good enough to even sit on the pew or chair.
Can I ask you something today?  Who said you have to be perfect?
If any of these people placed high expectations on you, that's their fault.
You do not have to be perfect at anything for any one. The truth of the matter is, God already knows we aren't perfect anyway.
Romans 5:8 says, "But God shows His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."
God didn't say, "Alright Jill, when you are perfect, THEN I will love you." 
He expects us to be messed up. He knows that we have a sinful nature that we were born with. So, why would He expect us to be perfect?
Even after we are saved, we won't be perfect. Some of the BEST people I know, still sin. 
The world wants you to think you  have to perfect. That if you don't look, act, dress, or behave a certain way that you aren't good enough.
That's crap! Stop listening to it!
You are loved. You are the child of the Most High God who thinks you are amazing! (or as my friend Matt aka "Frank" on SnapChat says, "UHMAZIN")
Did you know that trying to be perfect is actually a form of pride? OUCH, right?
But it is. Because think of it this way.... basically, you are telling God that you don't think what He's created is good enough. 
Now, on the flip side here, let's not be so full of ourselves that we think we are the best thing since sliced bread. Ok? 
Find the balance.
If you want to improve things about yourself, do it.... but do it in a way and for God's glory. Not because you think you need to be perfect or you are trying to be perfect for someone else.
Also, let other people off the hook. Don't try to hold "perfect" over their heads. 
The only perfect person walked the earth over 2000 years ago. He never sinned. He healed, loved, and taught people.
Let's try to be like Him, knowing that we will never be fully perfect....but that we can look like Him and treat others the way He did.
God bless you today and always.

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