| | When Mistakes Meet Mercy | |

 

 

Contrary to my Instagram feed, I don’t have it all together.

I struggle, I doubt, I cry, and I question.

My life is not perfect, no matter how curated my social media sites may appear.

I get jealous; I grow frustrated. I become discouraged, and I get tired. It’s not always mile-long smiles and boisterous giggles.

 

I am human, after all.

 

 

Do I enjoy my life? Yes!

Do I love to encourage others on their own journeys? You bet your bottom dollar that I do.

Do I love Jesus with all that I have? Absolutely.

 

B U T

 

Do I have my life all figured out? No way.

Do I have all of the answers to my questions?  Unfortunately, that’s a negative.

Is each day wrapped in a cute, little bow of positivity? Man, do I wish . . . but no.

 

You see, there are moments in my life when all I can do is cry out to my Savior, begging for guidance, direction, and discernment. (Quite frankly, there have been quite a few of those this year.)

There are days when the only strength I possess is the strength to just sit and pour my heart out to God.

There are days when I feel like a complete and total failure—days when I berate myself for my endless mistakes.

 

No pretense. No show. No masks.

Just me.

And because I’m human, I’m a mess.

 

But because of Jesus Christ, I’m redeemed, so I don’t have to stay there.

 

 

Being a Christian doesn’t mean that my life is perfect, it just means that I rest in the One Who is.

Being a Christian doesn’t mean that I never make mistakes, it just means that I confess my faults to the One Who forgives.

 

Apart from Jesus Christ, we can’t ever seem to measure up.

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“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

 

^“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 8-10). 

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We can’t escape the hurt, pain, and hardship of this life. The perfection of which we so often dream will only be achieved the moment we finally meet Jesus.

 

Life is not a Hallmark movie. Yeah, I know. It breaks my heart too, but it’s time that we accept it and move on.

Stop trying to achieve something that doesn’t even exist.

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Regardless of social media’s incessantly deceptive portrayal of perfection:

no one is perfect,

no one’s life is perfect,

and that’s the truth.

 

BUT,

Jesus does redeem, renew, and restore.

 

He fills voids that only He can fill.

He cleanses lives that only He can cleanse.

 

He filled my void and cleansed my life. The beautiful part?

He can do the same for you, too.

 

Jesus wants to forgive, restore, and renew you.

You just have to let Him.

 

You see, mankind apart from its Creator is truly quite meaningless.

A human being living his life apart from the guidance of God is similar to a ship without a steer or a journey without a map—directionless and futile.

God created mankind to experience fellowship with Him, but once sin entered into the world, the fellowship was greatly severed.

 

Because of this, every human is a sinner.

 

Yep. Every one.

I’m a sinner, and you’re a sinner.

No one is exempt (Rom. 3:10-12).

There is absolutely nothing that you or I could do apart from Jesus to earn Salvation because our righteousness is as filthy rags (Is.64:6). But oh how sweet it is to know that there is truly nothing that you or I need to do apart from Jesus to receive Salvation!

 

You see, we all fall short of the glory of God—that’s the bad news.

Yet, despite our own unworthiness,  God loved us enough to provide a way for reconciliation—that’s the good news.

We couldn’t (and still can’t) save ourselves, but Jesus could.

And He did.

 

God sent the perfect sacrifice of Jesus to save us from our sins. Did he have to? Absolutely not. But he did, anyway. Why?

Because He loves us, and He desires fellowship with us.

What an amazingly merciful and unbelievably gracious God!

 

Through salvation in Jesus, man is saved from eternal damnation and secured in the gift of eternal life.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”(Romans 6:23).

 

Salvation is a free gift, but as with any gift, in order to receive it, you must first reach out and take it.

But, how? Well, let’s take a look at what the Bible says. Romans 10 declares, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved . . . For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (10:9,13).

Salvation is not through good works, nor is it through achieving “religious merit.” Salvation is by grace through faith, as Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches us, and it is the grandest gift that you will ever accept.

You see, we are all sinful, and because we are all sinful, we all fall short of the glory of God. Yet, despite our unworthiness, God sent His son Jesus to redeem and save us from our sinfulness. Through Jesus we can stand forgiven, we can stand restored, and we can stand new. This gift of Salvation is the greatest one to ever be given, and the best part is, you can accept it today. Come to Jesus. Let Him cleanse you. Let Him redeem you. Let Him save you. That nagging emptiness deep within you? Jesus can fill that . . . you just have to let Him.

“And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

 

I’m not perfect, and if you’re honest with yourself . . . neither are you.

But Jesus doesn’t want perfect; He wants humble hearts that genuinely believe on His name. He wants to save you. He wants to redeem you.

 

Let Him.