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The world was talking to me recently telling me that I'm going to fail, that I'm never going to measure up to God's standards, that no one ever has and no one will. I didn't fall for it. I knew it was a lie. I am aiming for perfection. If it is not attainable, why would Jesus set it as our goal?
Jesus is my example and He said, "Follow me". He said that His followers had seen Him do great things, but that through their Faith, that they would do even greater things. And Jesus' followers did a mighty work. There was only a few of them, but because of what they had seen, because of what they had been taught, because they had been inspired by the perfect example that Jesus set for them, without even knowing they were doing it, they set about turning the world upside down (or rightside up, depending on your perspective).
Jesus set something in motion. He spoke with the authority of His Father. He showed us God's compassion and love, forgiveness, Grace and also His anger. He spent time with His disciples and listened to their questions. He answered the disciples again and again. Sometimes he seemed to be disappointed by their incomprehension, their slowness to understand. But Jesus knew that eventually they would get it. But when? How?
Jesus died without ever seeing his followers fully comprehend that the world was about to change. He had done miracles in their presence, he had told them that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. Yet at Jesus' death, those who had sat at His feet were scattered, disoriented, defeated and broken. What Jesus had started might just as easily have vanished into the obscurity of time, to be lost forever. But that was not the plan.
4:13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his own Spirit.
Jesus gave us his own spirit. He began to live in the lives of those who would believe Him. He said that those of us who had never seen with our own eyes, but yet believed in Him had truly done something great. He allowed us to be born of the Spirit of God. He gave us a way to be re-born, a fresh start, a new beginning. He created in us a new heart and made us new creatures.
Just as Jesus said to sinners, "Go and sin no more", His spirit tells us the same. That was, and is, a command. We are supposed to obey the commandments of God. Jesus simplified the law. Where God had imposed 10 laws and the Jews had expanded and elaborated on them until you could make a profession out of interpreting the law, Jesus said, "Love".
That's easy to remember. "Love your God above all else and your neighbor as yourself". Yes, easy to remember, but difficult to perfect in our lives. But Jesus didn't leave us alone to struggle hopelessly with this new commandment. He gave us the very Spirit of Love, the Holy Spirit, to be our guide, our encourager and our comforter. We are called to perfection, perfection in Love.
When we unfailingly act in Love, we will always think the right thoughts, say the right words and do the right deed. Jesus would not have asked us to do the impossible. He told us what to do and He equipped with the means to do it. Perfection is the goal.
This Spirit does not happily dwell in mediocrity. It demands action. It tells us to obey! It demands that we act on our convictions. It doesn't stop calling us and directing us, though we can become accustomed to not obeying it. It calls us to walk in the Light. It demands that we set sanctification, yes even perfection as our most urgent goal.
God made a way for us. He gave us the same spirit that He gave to His apostles. With the Fire of the Holy Spirit, by obediance and with the power of Love, we can continue the work of setting the world rightside up. We have been given the commandment, the right and the authority. Now that we Believe, all that is left is that we Obey!
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