I woke up early Sunday morning, as I often do, prior to any of my other family members. I wasn’t feeling especially “holy” that morning, but I just knew I needed to spend some time in my Bible and in prayer. I found the quietest place in my house, my closet. It smelled of old shoes and was especially damp.
In that closet I admitted my failure before God and pressed forward.
For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again… Proverbs 24:16
It continued. At church I heard a message centered on loving my neighbor as myself, taken from Mark 12:31. I was challenged to measure my love for God in how I loved others around me. Convicted of my own failure in how I treated my wife and children at times, I took my family to the front of the church to pray.
At the altar I admitted my failure before God and pressed forward
For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again… Proverbs 24:16
As hard as it can be, the first step in a growing relationship with Jesus is transparency with Him on where we have missed the mark.
If you are honest with yourself, then you can probably admit that on your worst days you are a failure; that is easy. However, admitting that you are a failure on your best days can be a challenge. Your human nature challenges you to do better, try harder, and press forward and in some way maybe you will earn God’s approval. If you aren’t careful, you will look at the italicized scripture above and think that you can somehow “rise again” and be righteous on your own. But the Bible reminds us over and over again that there is one clear bridge between man and any right living that you can accomplish, namely Jesus.
In the gospel (good news of Jesus) a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
I simply want to remind you today that our right living begins and ends in a relationship with Jesus. If you aren’t a Christian I challenge you to find out who Jesus is! If you are a Christian, I still challenge you to find out who Jesus is! The process never changes, and you will find that you are always finding out more about Him, and getting to know Jesus more and more as you look for Him with all your heart.
Challenge Questions:
• Are you on a consistent basis being transparent with yourself and with God, and admitting your failure and sin to Him?
• Have you asked God to forgive you of your sin, and do you continually take your failure before Him?
• Are you looking for Jesus to find who He is for yourself, and not just trusting what others tell you about Him?
