Friday, August 5, 2011

Worldly Perfection VS Identity in Christ

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind."
Philippians 3:13-15

Everyone is trying to find an identity these days, searching for perfection in body and mind as well as in the spiritual realm. I have been around a lot of girls and many of them are looking to find an identity in each new boyfriend they "date", or trying to find it in the mirror, only to find that the girl facing them is not the girl they wanted to be, or maybe they are looking into different religions to see which one will help them to feel the best. I am not around that many guys but I am sure that they have some of the same problems.
Many times I find myself caught up in trying to achieve this "perfection" as well. Perfection in looks, body image, spiritualism, family, and well just anything in life.

My most trying imperfection is that of being a perfectionist. I don't try to exact perfection from others, I try to exact perfection from myself...I am very hard on myself when I cannot achieve perfection in certain areas. But, I cannot attain a perfection in any sense of the word without Christ. Christ is my only perfection He is the I AM and without Him I am nothing. I give all the glory to HIM when it comes to anything that may even look close to "perfect".

God has taught me that perfection in the world's eyes (i.e. body, looks, words, state of mind, religion, family, etc.) is not what He wants. This identity that I find in Christ will never make me of any consequence to world's eyes...I will never be a model, an actress, a career woman, anything that the world would think would be the perfect job.

 According to the world's standards My body will never be perfect, but my body is the LORD's temple and I will try to be as healthy as possible. My dress will never be "fashionable" if it means being immodest. My beliefs will never be accepted by the world, but I will try to bring the gospel to everyone I meet. I cannot and will not ever achieve worldly perfection. But, God in His grace and mercy has shown me where my true identity lies, my real perfection...not in bodily perfection, not in spiritual perfection, not even family perfection.

 Wherever people are there will be imperfection unless Christ is present there and that is where my perfection lies, in Christ. He makes me perfect before God, He washes away all the blots that I put there with my sins and makes me white as snow. I can come before God perfect only because the blood of Christ has washed my sin away.

I beg of you if you are searching for perfection in this world, end it. The only thing that God requires is that you accept the gift of His son Jesus as your personal Savour, repent of your sins and ask Him to wipe them clean so that you may be white as snow before God.

Let your only identity be in Christ.



1 comment:

  1. While reading your blog, it occurred to me that 'you have a way with words', however in retrospect and awe I've come to realize that 'The Word has a way with you'!

    God Bless my Daughter of Vision! 1 Jn 1;1

    Your Father

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