Sometimes I find myself thinking, “Whoops, I’ve done it again!” Usually, this is on occasions when I recognise that I may have fudged the truth a little, taken credit for something I did not do, gossiped or held a grudge. If I am honest, I fail to reach even my own standards. In the book of Romans, an author of the New Testament writes about this idea. In his letter to the Christians living in Rome, he says:
21 But how can you teach others when you refuse to learn? You preach that it is wrong to steal. But do you steal? 22 You say people should be faithful in marriage. But are you faithful? You hate idols, yet you rob their temples. 23 You take pride in the Law, but you disobey the Law and bring shame to God. 24 It is just as the Scriptures tell us, “You have made foreigners say insulting things about God.” (CEV)
I encourage my children to share, think of others, be kind and be thoughtful. I know the type of people I want them to grow up to be. Yet, I also know that I do not reach this standard myself. As much as I try, I cannot truly live the kind of life I know is right.
We receive a lot of self-improvement advice. Whether it be removing sugar from your diet, getting serious about your fitness, or undertaking further training to sharpen your vocational skills. We want to be better, stronger, more impressive. Nevertheless, the nagging feeling remains that we will never be as good as we want to be.
The book of Romans goes on to tell us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. However, it then says, “we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” You see, there is an escape route and freedom from that nagging sense that we are never quite good enough. This freedom comes from Jesus who offers us grace, redemption and justification. Jesus has done everything on our behalf to bring us into a loving relationship with God the Father. Our hope needs to be in the ability of Jesus who has never failed or messed up; not in our own ability.