Striving for Perfection

Bible Study: Galatians 5:25

If we live by the Spirit [if the Spirit of God is our source of life, having already given our lives to Him], let us also walk by the Spirit [let the Spirit help us navigate our lives].

 
This essentially means let Him dictate every area of our lives no matter how 'unspiritual' the area may seem e.g. an upcoming performance discussion with your boss at work or a day out with your girlfriends. 

 
Obviously He cannot do this without our co-operation, we need to invite Him to lead. Thus in doing anything, we must already be under the influence - not of alcohol but by His Spirit. This means we are exhibiting His fruits in everything we do.

 
Recall the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) are:

*Love
*Joy
*Peace
*Patience
*Kindness
 *Goodness
*Meekness
*Faithfulness
*Self Control

Being a Nigerian, in a crazy city like Lagos, it is very easy to throw all of these fruits out the window within minutes - either in traffic or at the bank! While I can perhaps 'try' with most of the other fruits on some days, personally I struggle with the 4 highlighted every single day. 


But the scripture admonishes us not to dictate or navigate our lives and then invite the Spirit afterwards. It should be the other way round. So you can indeed commit that performance discussion or girls day out to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead. And if a challenge or trying situation may come in those instances, you will by His grace, live by His fruits.


The scriptures also tell us to be Christ-like [Phil 2:5] . This also means, since Jesus Christ is perfect, then you and I can also be perfect with the help of the Spirit. If we keep our mentality in the "no one is perfect" mindset, we will never strive to live by all those fruits listed above each day. 


That being said, Christianity is not about beating yourself down when you fail or fall, God's grace is abundant and because Jesus Christ died on the cross, our sins are already forgiven, if we come to Him in true repentance, confess our sins and ask for forgiveness.


Listen to this awesome song when you get a chance: Background by Lecrae


Reflection: If your life were a stage play with you as the lead actor, however the only person in your audience was God, what would you do differently?

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