You’ve seen them, we all have. They’ve arrived. They’ve reached a level in Christianity we can only aspire some day to reach. They’re the ones who send out a Christmas card, or Facebook post of the picture of their beautiful family and a message of how everyone is doing. The picture is flawless, the message is unbelievable. It may go something like this; “Dan finally got that promotion that we were praying about. Johnny reached his black belt level in Tie Quan Do. Susie just got accepted to Yale and will be starting at the end of August. I’m finishing up my MBA and was just elected chair woman of our book club. God has been so good! Our new house will be finished by the end of January.
Well I just wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Love,
Jill”.
We’re left with the feeling that we just don’t measure up. Jill and her family are just so perfect. I must be doing something wrong. God must not love me like he loves Jill. She doesn’t even seem to struggle with sin. I stuggle with my self every day. I wish I could be like her. What’s wrong with me? Maybe I’m just not cut out for this Christian life.
That just isn’t true. The life of a Christian is not perfect. In fact, it is very difficult. Trying to live Christlike in this fallen world is the hardest life there is. The world hates us. Jesus said,”If the world hated me it will hate you.” We actually make ourselves the enemy’s number one target.
Let’s deal with another fact. We are all marred by sin. The sin nature is not eradicated at the cross. Conversion restores our relationship with God though the atoning death of the cross by Christ. It does not mean that we won’t stuggle with our sin nature. The Apostle Paul reveals such in Romans 7:19. At salvation we have a change of heart. We now want to, or should want to, be Christ like. But that doesn’t ever mean we will no longer be plagued by our own sinful nature. We still have sin to deal with until the day we die and go to be with Him. I John 1:8 says, “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
Simply put, there are no perfect Christians. We were saved by grace, and it is that same grace that we strive to walk as He walked. “God works in us to will and to do his good pleasure.” Phil 2:13.
If we pretend that our lives all perfect and that we don’t sin, or that we’re not struggling with anything, we’re liers. And we turn people off. In fact, that kind of pretense does more to hinder people from coming to Christ than anything could. It even causes those who are trying to follow Christ to fall. In essence, this type of Christian becomes a stumbling block. And they are actually enemies of Christ and will be judged as such. Mark 9:42.
So than, people like Jill are fake. She is not a perfect Christian. Perfect Christians do not exist. Do not hang around these posers. Unfriend them. Find people of God who love God but know that they are far from where they want to be, but walk in humility as they “work out their salvation with fear and trembling.”
So the next time you get one of those perfect Christmas letters, or posts, throw it away, or hit delete. And remember, Jesus loves you, messed up and all!