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Truly Converted People Aim for Perfection, December 3
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:48
, NKJV.
It means much to be a consistent Christian. It means to walk circumspectly
before God, to press toward the mark of the prize of our high calling in Christ. It
means to bear much fruit to the glory of Him who gave His Son to die for us. As
sons and daughters of God, Christians should strive to reach the high ideal set before
them in the gospel. They should be content with nothing less than perfection....
Let us make God’s holy Word our study, bringing its holy principles into our
lives. Let us walk before God in meekness and humility, daily correcting our faults.
Let us not by selfish pride separate the soul from God. Cherish not a feeling of
lofty supremacy, thinking yourself better than others. “Let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed lest he fall.” Peace and rest will come to you as you bring your
will into subjection to the will of Christ. Then the love of Christ will rule in the
heart, bringing into captivity to the Savior the secret springs of action. The hasty,
easily roused temper will be soothed and subdued by the oil of Christ’s grace. The
sense of sins forgiven will bring that peace that passeth all understanding. There
will be an earnest striving to overcome all that is opposed to Christian perfection.
Variance will disappear. People who once found fault with those around them will
see that far greater faults exist in their own character.
There are those who listen to the truth, and are convinced that they have been
living in opposition to Christ. They are condemned, and they repent of their
transgressions. Relying upon the merits of Christ, exercising true faith in Him,
they receive pardon for sin. As they cease to do evil and learn to do well, they
grow in grace and in the knowledge of God. They see that they must sacrifice
in order to separate from the world; and after counting the cost, they look upon
all as loss if they may but win Christ. They have enlisted in Christ’s army. The
warfare is before them, and they enter it bravely and cheerfully, fighting against
their natural inclinations and selfish desires, bringing the will into subjection to
the will of Christ. Daily they seek the Lord for grace to obey Him, and they are
strengthened and helped.
This is true conversion. In humble, grateful dependence those who have been
given a new heart rely upon the help of Christ. They reveal in their life the fruit
of righteousness. They once loved themselves. Worldly pleasure was their de-
light. Now their idol is dethroned, and God reigns supreme.—
Youth’s Instructor,
September 26, 1901
.
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