Failures

Failure seems like such an ugly word. We all try to avoid it, but eventually failures come our way. Genesis 2:6 says, "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.", thus sin, death, and destruction entered the perfect world that God created. Adam and Eve lived in the perfect Garden of Eden. They were able to physically talk to God and walk with Him, yet they weren't able to keep all of God's commands. It's impossible to live up to the standards laid out in the Bible. Christians are called to be holy, meaning set apart. 1 Peter 1:15-16 says, "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy'." So what's a messed up sinner like me supposed to do? I'm trying to live the way God would have me live, but I keep coming up short. Do I listen to that voice in my head that keeps telling me, "You'll never be able to get this right! You might as well give up." As I continue my journey with the Lord I'm realizing what the real failure is. The failure isn't just about sinning, but about continuing in that sin because it's too hard to keep trying. I'm learning that it isn't about falling down, but about refusing to get back up. There's a lot of growth that comes in failures. There are things that this stubborn woman has been able to learn only through failures. When I admit to the Lord that I can't walk through this life on my own and I surrender everything to Him, it's then that I'm finally free from the burden of my failures. One of my favorite verses is 1 Corinthians 5:17. It says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Some days I feel like that new creation all day. Then I have those days where I'm constantly going back to the Lord to be made new again. I know that to attain true holiness here on earth is impossible, but I don't want it to be because I refused to try.