Free to Fail

Galatians 2:20-21
When I was much younger my favorite TV program was The Six Million Dollar Man. It was a weekly series about an astronaut (Steve Austin) who was seriously injured in a training accident. Steve underwent an extensive surgery to replace his legs, an arm, and an eye. He becomes bionic and after he recovers he goes back to work for the government using his super-human powers battling evil for the good of mankind. As a youngster I was intrigued with the idea of good fighting evil so I was very much influenced by Steve Austin. I began to pattern my life after this ideal of what he represented. Whatever I did I put 120 percent effort into it. There were no limitations. In fact over time my friends gave me the nickname ‘Super Dave’. The moniker was given not because of any super-human feats of strength, speed, or brain power. I was dubbed  ‘Super Dave’ because of my innate ability to get anything and everything completed that was tasked to me even if it meant working to exhaustion. This ideal also became the driving force to be perfect in order to complete the myriad of things on my ‘To Do’ list. Some might say, “What’s so wrong with trying to be perfect in achieving your goals.” The problem is perfectionism bleeds into all other parts of our lives even into our Christian walk. You begin to rely on yourself and less on the strength of the Lord. Perfectionism leads to a legalistic point of view not only in your own life but in how we view the world. Instead of allowing for mistakes, perfectionism leads to frustration and disappointment with yourself and with others who cannot rise to the level of your expectations. This in turn becomes a breeding ground for negative self-talk for your failures and pride in your successes. Perfectionism means self-reliance and separation from the One who wants to lead you to His peace and His joy.

But Jesus didn’t come to earth for the super-human. He came for the lost, the broken-hearted, the poor in spirit, the hurting, the not-so-perfect. And yes, he came for the perfectionists too who realize that being a Six Million Dollar Man still isn’t enough to fix matters of the heart. As I grew older and my Christian walk matured I realized that grace is enough. No amount of effort on my part will satisfy the soul without Jesus, the perfecter of my faith. One verse that resonates within me whenever I feel more then I am is found in Galatians 2:20-21 (NLT), “I myself no longer live, but Christ in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die.”

For those who this devotional speaks too, I promise you you’ll find freedom in your failures because you’ll rely more on Jesus then on yourself. When you realize that your not The Six Million Dollar Man but a pauper saved by grace, you’ll find that Jesus fills in the gap between your imperfection and His perfection. For God said we ALL fall short of the glory on our own. Praise be to Jesus for there is freedom in His name.
 
David Carey

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