Christian Perfection
(Philippians 3:12).
It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of
what He can do-God's purpose is to make us one with Himself. The
emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing
specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept
of personal holiness, your life's determined purpose will not be for
God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can
we say, "It could never be God's will for me to be sick"? If it was
God's will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn't He
bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your
relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your
genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained
devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.
Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection.
Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that
shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of
human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing
that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The
next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living
perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea
that God is unnecessary-that through your own human effort and
devotion you can attain God's standard for your life. In a fallen
world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect
relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the
lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself
hinder my usefulness to God. God's purpose is not to perfect me to
make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where
He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.
t Michael t
P.S. As a man was driving in Washington D.C., he was searching for
God's will for his future. His car ran out of gas in front of the
Philippines embassy. He took it as a sign of God's will he should go
to the Philippines as a missionary. I wonder what he would do if he
were single and stuck on an elevator with a single young lady named
Mary.
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