Time to renew this section of the forum!!!
Grace for the Perfectionist
By: Anitha Abraham
As we begin this new year, our resolution lists are long and expectations are high. We have visions of perfection dancing in our heads. And amid all the pressure we put on ourselves, we can sometimes start to think that perfection is what God wants from us, too.
After all, in our key verse, we’re called God’s masterpiece: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10).
Being a masterpiece sounds great, but I will admit I don’t always feel that way. Instead, I can find myself striving to be perfect, ignoring the truth found in the second sentence of the verse: Because of Christ, I don’t have to be perfect. If you, too, struggle with this, you know like I do that it’s exhausting!
Paul, who is responsible for writing almost half of the New Testament, including our key verse, relates to our struggle when he says in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (NIV). I know what this tension is like! But then in his letters to various churches, he also repeatedly says, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1, NIV).
Wait … what? How can Paul bridge the gap between the fight with his flesh and following Christ?
Here’s how: grace.
Paul often bookends his letters with beautiful blessings of grace. For a long time, I struggled with grace — giving and receiving it. I was hard on others because I was hard on myself. If I wasn’t perfect, I felt like I was a mistake.
What happens when you feel like a mistake instead of a masterpiece? Maybe this acrostic will help: G.R.A.C.E.
G ‒ Give yourself a moment.
R ‒ Remember God loves you.
A ‒ Acknowledge what didn’t go well.
C ‒ Celebrate what did go well!
E ‒ Encourage yourself.
Sister, you are absolutely a masterpiece … perfected by Jesus, loved by God and covered in His grace.
Father, I am so thankful You have made me righteous in Christ Jesus. Thank You for loving me on my best days and my worst days. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
in full at:
Grace for the Perfectionist
Grace for the Perfectionist
By: Anitha Abraham
As we begin this new year, our resolution lists are long and expectations are high. We have visions of perfection dancing in our heads. And amid all the pressure we put on ourselves, we can sometimes start to think that perfection is what God wants from us, too.
After all, in our key verse, we’re called God’s masterpiece: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10).
Being a masterpiece sounds great, but I will admit I don’t always feel that way. Instead, I can find myself striving to be perfect, ignoring the truth found in the second sentence of the verse: Because of Christ, I don’t have to be perfect. If you, too, struggle with this, you know like I do that it’s exhausting!
Paul, who is responsible for writing almost half of the New Testament, including our key verse, relates to our struggle when he says in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (NIV). I know what this tension is like! But then in his letters to various churches, he also repeatedly says, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1, NIV).
Wait … what? How can Paul bridge the gap between the fight with his flesh and following Christ?
Here’s how: grace.
Paul often bookends his letters with beautiful blessings of grace. For a long time, I struggled with grace — giving and receiving it. I was hard on others because I was hard on myself. If I wasn’t perfect, I felt like I was a mistake.
What happens when you feel like a mistake instead of a masterpiece? Maybe this acrostic will help: G.R.A.C.E.
G ‒ Give yourself a moment.
R ‒ Remember God loves you.
A ‒ Acknowledge what didn’t go well.
C ‒ Celebrate what did go well!
E ‒ Encourage yourself.
Sister, you are absolutely a masterpiece … perfected by Jesus, loved by God and covered in His grace.
Father, I am so thankful You have made me righteous in Christ Jesus. Thank You for loving me on my best days and my worst days. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
in full at:
Grace for the Perfectionist
