A good mother (or father) should...
A good friend should...
How many of us have these unpublished "lists" floating around in our heads?
When I asked these questions of a group of single moms and had them fill in the blanks, most of the responses were just what I had expected...unattainable.
They said things like, "A good Christian should read their Bible daily." (I'm a failure.) "A good mother should keep her children clean." (Good grief, with two boys I failed miserably!) "A good friend spends time with you." (Again, epic failure...)
As we unpacked the reality behind these laundry lists, what we found was that most of us had done a pretty good job most of the time, but we hadn't been able to do all of them 100% of the time. The rub came when we defined someone as "good" by the things they accomplished on our lists, but did that mean that because they didn't hit the mark every time that they were "bad?"
Even worse, we discovered that we were hardest on ourselves when it came to meeting the standard. There were many times we had believed we were "bad" because we couldn't do it all perfectly.
GUT CHECK!
If we had the ability to do all these things and do them to perfection we would have no need of a Savior! Jesus came to destroy the mental "lists" and replace them with His grace and mercy.
Sure, there are still things that we should do. We should read the Word, we should try to keep our children as clean as possible and we should spend time with friends, but we shouldn't let the actions themselves overtake the heart behind them. And we shouldn't put our own "list" expectations on others!
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
There is nothing you can do so well that you can earn God's grace and mercy, but if you have accepted His Son as your Savior, the "list" has already been accomplished.
Next time you're tempted to consult your "list," try looking into the Word instead. You never have to check that twice!!
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