How to be a Perfect Christian

 

I’m calling out the people who wish they could be perfect but know they aren’t; I’ve obviously reached perfection and want to share my tips… JUST KIDDING. I know I definitely didn’t get anyone, but you probably clicked on this for one of two reasons. Either you wanted to see what I had to say; maybe I really did know something. Or you were thinking I’ve gone insane and wanted to know what the heck I was thinking. Well, whichever reason you clicked on this post let me make one thing clear; I’m not perfect, and neither are you. Hopefully, you knew this; but don’t click away yet I have more to say! If that statement pressed a button inside you I really encourage you to keep reading.

No, we’re not perfect, Jesus was the only man alive who was. In His perfection, he chose to take on our imperfection and cleanse us to be clean before the Lord. That last part is key to all of this; none of Christianity is about being perfect. It’s not about doing all the “Christian things” to check them off the list of your life. it’s about drawing close to the One who’s longed for intimacy since the beginning of time itself. Confused? Think you already understood that? Let me back up. 

Most are familiar with the story of Adam and Eve. God created the world, a garden for Himself and decided He wanted to share it with someone; so out of the abounding love in His heart, He created man and woman. He walked with them in the garden, He fellowshipped with them, He had intimacy with them. When they chose to listen to the enemy and indulge their flesh sin entered their bodies. God, being the perfect being He is cannot dwell close with sin. Throughout the Old Testament, we see that when someone who is unclean enters God’s presence they die. So all of a sudden, God cannot draw close with His beloved children anymore or they would die. So He removes them from the garden and for the rest of the Old Testament, if you look closely, you see a God who just wants intimacy with His people. 

When God gave Moses the instructions for the Tabernacle there were a lot of details. I definitely struggle reading those chapters. However, everything in the Bible is there for a reason; these instructions have to be specific because God is creating a place where He can dwell with His people. All the sacrifices must be made to cleanse the people of their sin before entering His presence so they wouldn’t drop dead. Imagine just wanting to be close with people, your children, your friends, and they die as soon as they enter your presence; that’s the really simple explanation for what’s happening.  He created a covenant with Israel which He never broke; even when they went off the deep end, if Israel repented and turned to God again He forgave them and asked them to follow the law so He could draw close again.

That’s where Jesus comes in, God spilled His own blood as the final atonement for our sins. When we turn to God, and believe we are covered by His blood, suddenly we are aware of the Spirit of God dwelling inside of us and we can draw close to God without dying! The story isn’t over yet either, God still wants to physically dwell with us; that’s what we get to look forward to for eternity. 

So no, we’re not perfect, but Jesus covered us with His blood so we can repent of our sins and be made clean before the Lord; so He can draw close to us. Intimacy is what He truly desires, not the works we do in this life, not how often we go to church or read our Bible. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus explains that there will be a lot of people who boast in the works they did in this life, but He tells them plainly “I never knew you.” God desires to be close to His children; not that they become what they define as ‘perfect’. 

 Yes, read your Bible, go to church, pray before your meals; do all the things religion tells you to do. But don’t for a moment believe that your “perfection” is what makes you Christian or is what draws you closer to the Father. We cannot do Christianity without a relationship with Jesus; it quickly will get boring, it will get hard, it will feel pointless. When we desire to seek His face we can truly understand how He satisfies us more than anything else. Here’s the big news (as if that wasn’t big enough) – as we draw near to GOD (which is possible thanks to Jesus) being a perfect Christian doesn’t even matter. 

Let me say that again for the people in the back; when we draw close to God our Father, the creator of everything, the king of kings; being a perfect Christian doesn’t. even. matter. 

You’ll automatically WANT to read your Bible, you’ll want to pray and get to know Him; the desire to follow your flesh and indulge in the ways of the world may still be tempting but it will be so much easier to run to God and remember His ways are so much better. You’ll begin to realize there is more to Christianity than what Religion tells you. 

So no, you may not be a perfect Christian, but when drawing close to God it doesn’t matter anyway; He is all that matters! 

If you made it all the way to the end I hope that touched your heart like it touched mine when I realized all of this! I’m still growing, I’m still learning. Drawing close to God isn’t an overnight process, but it’s so worth it. Have you ever felt like you were trying to be perfect but burning out before you got there? Maybe you didn’t realize how much God wants to draw close to you? Let me know what you think in the comments! Feel free to share this with your friends if you feel like it’s something they’d want to hear. 

As always, thanks for reading. xx