Have you ever been so annoyed with someone because they carry themselves as though they are completely perfect in every way? I’ve been guilty of this many times throughout my life. Before I became a Christian, I thought this way of all Christians. I was surprised to learn early on in my walk with Jesus that this isn’t how Christians see themselves at all. Due to the old religious traditions of the faith, it is easy to come to this conclusion. However, when you take a deeper look into what scripture says about humanity and perfection, you get a much different insight into what Christianity is truly about. And, who Christianity is for. Hint: it’s not for perfectly good people, and Christians are certainly not perfect people either.
In my quiet time with the Lord today, I was blessed to come across a good word in Ephesians chapter 2:
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT
It’s always a blessing to revisit verses like these because I’m reminded of and comforted by His perfect grace.
Here are 3 main things the Holy Spirit imparts on me when I read verses like Ephesians 2:8-9.
I’ve never had to earn my salvation - all I had to do was finally admit to myself something that I’d always known to be true, deep in my heart.
Even in the thick of my rebellion during my teenage years and early 20s, I always felt a tugging on my heart that there was something more to life than what I was experiencing. No amount of drugs or alcohol could ever fill the hole that I felt deep in my soul. Even as a small finite human being, living in a giant ever-expanding universe, I still always felt there was something significant about life. I felt that this couldn’t possibly all be here for no reason. I didn’t know it at the time, but these feelings were my first steps into a broader spiritual life that I knew nothing about. Eventually, I finally admitted to myself that I could and did believe in the God who created it all. I had no idea this was Jesus calling me in to his family. No idea that this was all He wanted from me - simply to believe in Him and in doing so receiving the gift of eternal life.
This scripture also reminds me that I can’t take credit for my salvation, and that I’m not meant to, because salvation is a GIFT, from THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE.
The gift is this: that by believing in Him I am given eternal life. In doing so, I receive and accepted a peace that surpasses all human understanding. And what a wonderful peace it is to know that I have the living God of the Universe is on my side no matter what unfortunate circumstances I fall in to during my time in this world.
Lastly, this scripture reminds me not to expect perfection from others: my family, my friends, coworkers, bosses, etc...
As a child of God, I’m given protection from my sin nature by the Son, Jesus Christ. God knows I will fall into sin. He knows that I will miss the mark against his righteous and perfect standards. And He sent is Son to come to this world, to live a perfect life, and take the punishment that I deserve for my sin.
One of the biggest misconceptions I find non-believers have of Christians is that they think Christians believe they are perfect. What is surprising though is the exact opposite is the truth. When a hurting soul becomes a Christian, it’s because that person finally comes to grips with their imperfection. It’s that we ultimately recognize that we are not perfect, and never will be in this world. If we had the power to be perfect human beings, there would be no need for Jesus to come and His death on the cross would be for nothing.
This scripture also gives me freedom from expecting imperfect people to be flawless human beings. I needed to accept this gift of salvation from the Lord because I am a sinful, imperfect person. So, by default, all of my loved ones are in the same boat. We were all created by the same creator, and we are all his image bearers. I’m not perfect so what reason do I have to believe my loved ones can be? And because Jesus has that grace on me, it’s easier for me to extend that grace to others.
These verses are a wonderful reminder to never expect imperfect people to act perfectly. Another way I’ve heard it targeted especially at Christian brothers and sisters: don’t expect your non-believing loved ones to act like believers. Love them with grace, just as Jesus has grace on you.
With prayers,
Steven
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