There were two wonderful devotional verses for me as I read this chapter. Verse 5, Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test? and 11, Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Verse 11 stuck and I found myself pondering the practical advice Paul gives in that verse.
Aim for perfection, I know I will never achieve perfection, but at least for me I am blessed to have such a lofty goal. It will keep me striving… striving to be the man God wants me to be. It keeps me striving to live more and more Christ-like as I walk with the Lord longer and longer. Goals motivate me and this is a goal I can work on my entire life…
Live in peace. There is so much strife in this world, within families, communities, work places, countries, churches and so on. Strife sucks the life out of me. I imagine it does the same to you. As I ponder this simple command, I balance it with Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. I find the If it is possible helpful because I can only control my actions and thoughts. Sometimes the other person will make peace, but even if they don’t, I can choose to live peaceably.I know when I do, my life is better for it.
And the God of love and peace will be with you. God rewards right behavior and having God with me is reward itself…
Thank You, Lord, for calling me to a higher way to live, for spurring me on to faith and good deeds, for setting the bar high. And for providing the Holy Spirit who gives me strength to do the things You call and ask me to do! Lord, I pray that I will know Your presence in my life as I go about my days… in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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