This week my YouVersion Bible Plan took me into Galatians. The epistles are shorter making my reading appear more productive. I had fallen behind but am happy to say that I am all caught up.
I really enjoyed doing the S.O.A.P. method last week so I’m going to write this post in the same format.
Scripture
How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? –Galatians 3:3 NLT
Observation
I have spent all of my life working to be perfect, acceptable, and good enough. I know that there are events and people in my past that may have intensified my fear of rejection. Here it is, in my Bible, a verse showing me that I am not alone in my efforts to work for perfection. The fact is, I was born a sinner and the fear of someone finding out that I’m a sinner is a human emotion that may have been exaggerated by circumstances but the seedling of that emotion was with me at birth. It is with all of us at birth.
I read blogs and tweets, daily, of others working so hard to remind themselves that they don’t have to be perfect. Other blogger friends of mine rally around and remind each other that we all fall short and it is okay to not be perfect.
What if we all took a day, and remembered that we don’t have to work to be perfect. Christ did that for us already.
Application
A thought came to me today, as I tidied up my house for some last minute company. I will not lower my standards (homeschooling, housekeeping, appearance, etc.) to make you feel more comfortable; I WILL show you that sometimes I fall short of my standards, the world doesn’t end, it will be okay, because Jesus never asked me to be perfect. My efforts during my day should be at sharing the redeeming Grace of Jesus instead of making excuses for why I am less than the perfect mom, wife, teacher, and friend. I am, because God made me that way. Through Jesus, I am perfected.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9
Prayer
Dear Lord,
I overheard my daughters talking about how Jesus was “beat up” by the soldiers. I immediately felt the need to stop bathing the little ones and explain to my children that what Jesus experienced was way more than just a beating. Thank you for putting the words in my mouth for that conversation. Just enough detail for them to stop and get quiet and breathe in the intensity and seriousness of the crucifixion. “It wouldn’t be fair momma if I got in trouble for something someone else did.” She’s right. In this sinful world we would stomp our feet and cry out that it was “not fair”. Please, help me to stop taking the sacrifice my Savior made for me in vain anymore. Focus my eyes on Your expectations and not on the expectations of this world. I don’t want everyone to see a hard working mommy that is barely treading water. I want them to see You. Your Message. Your Grace. Jesus.
Amen
