1.
Many Christians try to please God. They
try to live a good life, give tithe and offerings, help others, and do many
good works. The more they do, they found the need to do more and more. Sometimes,
they would find themselves doing what God did not want. They get tired trying
to live the Christian life. That is not the way God wants you to be. You will
never enjoy life with Jesus, if you try to please God by yourself.
2.
God wants you to be happy. He does
not demand perfection in you. Nor does He expect you to live a Christian life
by yourself. He never expects you to meet His Holy standards. If God ever thought
that you could please Him by yourself, He wouldn’t have come to earth to die
for you. But He came.
3.
Jesus said to the crowds, “You
therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
So, it is true that God’s laws, His
commands, require perfection. And if we were to be accepted by God based on
living up to his commands, we would have to be perfect. No wonder Jesus came to
save us from the penalty of our sins!
4.
God is aware of the gap between his
perfection and your sinfulness. Even as Christians, there is a constant tension
within us to try to close that gap, so that we feel more comfortable, so that
we feel closer to God. Some will try to close the gap by trying to lower God’s
standards: “God doesn’t really mean…” Others will try to close the gap by
trying to raise their performance: “I’ll try harder…”
