This is such a busy time of year for me, so I apologize if I don’t update regularly. My main focus is ARMT+ until mid-April!
I’ve had a few things bouncing around in my head that I’ve wanted to share. I honestly don’t think I’ve slowed down enough to hear God lately. Even through everything that’s happened I still get caught up in earthly things that won’t even matter in Heaven. I am so ashamed of my priorities. I let God down daily, yet He still loves me and forgives me. Praise the Lord that one day, there will be no more distractions and eternity will be spent singing His Praises!
One thing that I can’t really wrap my head around is earthly perfection vs. Heavenly perfection. God’s word commands us to live as Christ did~1 John 2:6 and to have the same attitude as Christ~Philippians 2:5. Jesus was perfect. We all know that. Well, if we are commanded to live as He did, then we are commanded to live perfect lives. Obviously, we live in a fallen creation, so there is no such thing as perfection. So why try to do something that you know you will never accomplish? The answer to that question is we strive for perfection on Earth so we will gain Heavenly perfection. Notice I didn’t say that by striving for earthly perfection we gain Heavenly perfection. My interpretation of perfection on earth and earthly perfection is different. To me, earthly perfection is what we, as a fallen creation, do strive for. This is perfection in everything we’re involved. I struggle with this daily. I am a perfectionist in most areas and must have control in all areas. If my name is tied to something, I want it to be perfect. This behavior will obviously not earn us Heavenly perfection because it is human-centered and selfish. However, I don’t think that striving for earthly perfection is always negative. God wants us to take pride in the things we do. He wants us to do well and be successful (our definitions of successful may vary though). Earthly perfection becomes harmful when we begin to strive for perfection on our own, without consulting God and asking for His guidance.
I believe (or at least my mind makes sense of it this way) that striving for perfection on earth is what God has commanded us. This is where we live as Christ lived. This is where we go and make disciples of all nations~Matthew 28:19. This is where we must be holy because [He] is Holy~1 Peter 1:16. No, we will never achieve perfection here on Earth, but we can and must strive for that perfection we will only gain once we get to Heaven. I think about this a lot. I know that once I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I was forgiven. I understand His grace and mercy as much as I believe someone can understand it on Earth. Yet, I think about one day becoming Christ-like in Heaven. I think about how unworthy I am and how much of a sinner I am. I wonder why God loves me so much and why He chose me. I wonder why He would want to spend eternity with me. Why does He, the perfect, holy, just, God of all creation, want a relationship with me? Simple. God doesn’t want a relationship with me because of who I am. He wants a relationship with me because of who He is. He is the God of all creation. All things were created for Him and by Him~Colossians 1:16. He wants a relationship with me because of Him.
Now that my redneck theology has probably confused you, read the following scripture: 1 John 3:1-3 ~ How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when [Jesus] appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
How great is His love! He wants us to be His children! We are that special to Him and we didn’t even have to do anything! Doesn’t that make you want to do something in return, though? This alone makes me want to sing His praises and let Him know how grateful I am for His love. What we will be has not yet been made known. Heavenly perfection will be revealed to us one day. Praise the Lord!
My prayer is that during this busy time of year, we will all find time to thank Him and listen to Him. He loves us enough to want us as His children.
