Stop Doing the Work that Christ Already Did For You
Speaking as a perfectionist you will be relieved by accepting His Grace over your works
I demand perfection from myself constantly. If you’re like me, if I don’t like my work or how I feel about myself I will make sure it is perfect until I am sick. Then I began to question my efforts and what I was doing wrong to get to this point of failure at any project in my life. I became concerned for my health. So I began to ask myself, what if I was focusing too much on my own works rather than what Jesus did for us at the cross?
Being workaholics or perfectionists can be draining. So I began to lean into and drink from the peaceful living water that Jesus offers (John 4:13-14).
Did you know that Galatians 3:13-14 says, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
We could never fulfill the whole law. If we broke one commandment we break all of them. So if you steal, you are guilty of breaking all of the 10 commandments at the same time (James 2:10-20).
Obviously, God knows we can’t carry this complete burden ourselves, so He sent us His Son Jesus to take our place on the Cross.
Romans 3:23-26 says,
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness,
Ephesians 2:8-9 says For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
So even if we mess up and stumble with a sin or whatever projects we may be focusing on in life. We have God’s grace to forgive us. He doesn’t call us to be perfect but to receive His Grace through His Son Jesus Christ.
It means one thing to actively practice sin and beat yourself up about not achieving perfection.
It is another to realize that you are imperfect and should forgive yourself if you do slip up or fail every now and again.
For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes. Proverbs 24:16
The point is to recognize that we are imperfect human beings and we need to accept Christ’s work in us through the sacrifice He made for us at the Cross— His grace.
We also need to forgive ourselves when we slip up and recognize that we are worthy of a second chance. We are not failures— we are still worthy of moving on and writing new stories in the seasons of life that God gives us on this earth while we wait for Christ’s return.
Have You Already Received Jesus into Your Heart as Your Personal Savior?
If you have read this far, you are probably interested in beginning a relationship with Jesus or at one point have heard about Him and want to be reconciled to Him.
Scripture says,
Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Say this simple prayer aloud in the comfort of your own home
Dear Jesus,
I come to you by faith believing that you have died on the cross in my place and have risen from the dead on the 3rd day. I confess with my mouth that you are my Lord and Savior, Jesus and that you have risen from the dead. Come into my heart, today. I receive you into my life. Amen.