Will it never end?
I'm talking about the endless struggle to be “conformed to the image of Christ.” I mean, we are told to be like Christ. This, I think, is a call for us to allow the teachings of the Savior to permeate every fiber of our being. That's a tall order but as believers we are supposed to be striving to achieve it. And yet, the longer I live the more I come to the realization that it is only through the grace of God that I’ll even come remotely close to it.
Undeniably, and I think some of you would agree, it is hard work.
Even so, it's not the trying that gets me,...it's the times that I fail that gets to me. Daily, I am faced with the reality that I fall terribly short of conforming to his image. It's because, whenever I try to do “Good,” there is that ever persistent “Bad” working against me. When the battle gets unbearable, I find myself crying out, like Paul did in Romans 7, "Oh wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" That's when the resounding answer comes, "Jesus! Jesus can deliver me!"
At this stage of my life, I have come to believe that it is good to periodically stop whatever it is I am doing, sit down for a moment and take a brief review of my life. What that does is allows for a moment to see where I’ve been. Because there just may be some truth to the old adage that, if we take the time to review where we’ve been, we can better get a bearing on where it is we want to go. You should try it sometime. However, be forewarned that looking back does not always yield all pleasant memories.
As I have reviewed my life I have found that, at times, I have failed miserably. I have found that, in spite of all the time that God has invested in me, at times, I take my eyes off of Jesus and still get caught up in the mundane cares of this world. I have found that I am still susceptible to temptations and that, if I’m not careful, sin can overtake me. In fact, if I’m not careful, the guilt and the shame of past failure will eat away at me like a cancer, leaving me weak and useless.
There have been times that I’ve thought that I was super strong. That’s when 1 Corinthians 10:12 came screaming at me, "Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall!" And, boy! Have I had some great falls in my life.
Remember how, in one of the earlier versions of the Superman series (with Christopher Reeves playing the “Man of Steel”), Lois Lane’s car is swallowed by a crack in the earth? Superman is busy saving the rest of the world. By the time he gets to Lois he has to pull her sunken, soil-filled, car out of the crevice. She is deceased. His heart is broken. He is beside himself with grief. He suddenly thrusts himself up into the atmosphere and begins to fly around the earth at lightning speed in an attempt to reverse its rotation. As he gradually succeeds, time itself begins to be reversed. Lois Lane’s car pops back out of the fissure; the crack in the earth recedes; Lois is alive again! Yay! Superman then returns the earth back to its natural rotation. Time resumes, and then he flies back down to earth and gets to Lois before the tragedy takes place. She’s saved! The end.
Have you ever wished you could do that? I have. Because if I could, I could reverse time back to every time I made a mistake, every time I failed miserably, every time I said something stupid or make a bad choice. I could reverse time and then make a different choice. Man! I would have it made. I would be perfect! Well,…not really. I would still be flawed. It’s just that you wouldn’t know it. My mistakes would be hidden behind an endless string of reversals that leave folks with the impression that I am perfect, only, it would be a false impression of perfection. The truth of the matter is, I have found that I am not perfect. I am still striving to be more Christ-like. I have found that I am still a disciple in training. Were it not for God’s grace, I don’t know where I’d be right now. One thing I do know, I’d most certainly be lost.
What about you? Have you had any struggles? Have you had any failures or weaknesses? If you have, you need to be reminded that God is really good at forgiving the past. If you have ever fallen down let me encourage you to now stand on His promises because God does not lie. If he says he will forgive, then, he really will forgive. Just ask Him. After this, if you ever fall again, may you fall on God’s Grace because it makes for a very soft landing.
It’s hard work but God wants us to be “conformed to the image of His Son,” (Romans 8:29). He wants us to be His disciples. He wants us to be Jesus followers. Nevertheless, God does not want us to be motivated by fear but moved by His grace...
...And, personally, God's Grace is a never ending and comforting refrain in the heart and mind of Victor.