James 1:4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
It is unrealistic to think we change at the snap of a finger. We are human, and subject to human tendencies. I am always dismayed when I see people claim perfection or that they have overcome sin, or explain how nice they are, yet what is visible is far beyond distant from that. What happens to our own self-awareness?
Our own self-awareness is what helps us grow. Even when we know what we ought to do, as Paul has said, and we do otherwise, we keep pushing forward.
Paul says in Romans 7, "I do the very thing I hate."
The Message Bible puts it this way, "I know that all of God's commands are spiritual,yetI am not. … Yes, I am full of myself. … I decide one way, but then I act another. …. I need something more…the power of sin keeps sabotaging my best intentions… I decide to do good…. but I don't really do it. Something gets the better of me."
Ever felt like that? We can lose patience with ourselves. But James 1:4 tells us that we are in it for the long haul. Growth to maturity is the kind of perfection mentioned here, not the kind that we put out there as unreachable.
Today's selected devotional from crosswalk dot com gives some perspective. Keep putting ourselves in a position to be close to God and continually put Jesus first again and again. That will help us.
My Two Voices – Crosswalk the Devotional – March 4
My Two Voices by John UpChurch, Crosswalk.com Contributor “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9 I never read the Bible alone. Instead, there’s a squeaky voice tucked away…
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