Good News for Perfectionists By Kim HylandSample

Day Three

A Perfect Fit

Scripture: Romans 8:3

Through my ongoing struggles and failures, God has revealed to me the deep relevance of the gospel in my everyday life. I choose each day to respond to my sin either with condemnation and hopelessness or in the light of the gospel, which purifies my heart. When I remember grace, I am affirmed as completely accepted by God because of Christ, and I respond in gratitude and trust. The very good news of the gospel arrives every morning and meets me right where I am. It is a perfect fit. 

Before I began to embrace practically the grace found in the gospel each day, most of my mornings started out with big plans. But even after spending time praying and reading the Word, I’d be two feet outside my bedroom and everything would crumble as I was bombarded with my inescapable imperfection. Fussy children, unending to-do lists, emails, bills, and life’s myriad challenges would upend my resolve in a moment to “do this day right.” 

I guess I’ll try again tomorrow, I’d think. And I would trudge through my day. 

But when I began to see the relevance of the gospel in my life, I saw how it was a perfect fit for my reality. The gospel enables me to live in joy and freedom here with these people and in these circumstances. Nothing needs to change!

A proper understanding of the role of law and grace in our lives leads us to a proper response to the reality of the sin we are faced with daily, both our own and the sin of those around us. A law-informed response is marked by a discouraging and defeating progression: the delusion that we are capable of perfection on our own; denial of our imperfection; condemnation when we can no longer deny our imperfection; frustration, anger, and rebellion because we are faced with a hopeless task; and ultimately destruction, because we have no refuge from sin. 

But a grace-informed response to our sin is marked by a path that leads us to Christ again and again: recognition of our failures and imperfection; conviction of the Spirit; repentance in response to his kindness; and ultimately restoration and a deeper intimacy with our Father because of his love. 

What are some ways you can demonstrate a “grace-informed” response to your sin? How does that perspective influence your response to others’ sin?