Genesis 2:7 tells us that God formed Adam from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils and he became a living person. Genesis 2:21 says that God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, and then took a rib from Adam’s body and made Eve, Adam’s wife. Genesis 2:25 sums up their blessed and blissful existence by telling us that they were naked but felt no shame. This is extremely important for us to understand, because shame is thought to be the most damaging emotion and the root of all the others that undermine our well-being. The betrayal that Adam and Eve’s sin caused was the end of immortality for humans and the beginning of a long journey to be free from sin’s grasp and the shame that comes with it.
Hebrews 12:24(NLT) says, “You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.” The old covenant of the law accomplished God’s purpose, but it could not save us. Our Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to accomplish the mission of rescuing us from sin’s grip. God’s Word declares in 2Corinthians 5:21(NLT), “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” It is our responsibility as God’s sons and daughters to understand the fullness of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ so that we can be truly and deeply thankful for it. We have overwhelming victory over sin through Jesus Christ, so much so that we should never choose to sin again.
We can live a blameless life before God through Jesus Christ by walking in the Spirit. It is available for us to read and study God’s Word and live it to the full. He commands us in Colossians 3:10(NLT) to “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” Learning more about our Creator through His Word and becoming more like Him is our greatest privilege and joy as followers of Christ, but the reality is that most of us do this at a very slow pace. This is a problem when we desire accelerated blessings, but our spiritual growth in Christ is far behind.
Who wants to admit that? None of us do. We have flaws and shortcomings that are impeding our faith, because we’re not reaching as diligently as we should for the “mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” as Philippians 3:14 says. God has magnified His Word above His name, and His Will is that we use the standard of His Word to apply correction that keeps us on the path of His blessings.
2Timothy 3:1-5(NKJV) states, “1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.” Some of us have flaws and shortcomings that look very much like these. We need to address them with the deepest sense of humility and Godly sorrow before our Heavenly Father, because we can’t progress forward until we seek His forgiveness, repent, and deal with our flaws by putting on more of the love of Christ.
It’s sometimes a challenging thing to admit, but we are almost never as loving, generous, caring, forgiving, and Godly as we think we are. The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. Our Heavenly Father doesn’t punish us when we’re behind schedule on our journey forward in Christ. Often, He holds up a mirror through our circumstances to show us where we’ve gotten off track. He then helps us to come into alignment and harmony with His Will and plan for our lives. Let’s pray that God will strengthen our inner man to the point where our flaws are steppingstones to greater love, faith, and power in Christ. ■
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“Dealing with Our Flaws” written by Fran Mack. Edits by Kim Times and K. Stephens for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.