How secure do you or others feel in your family? Does you or your family think or believe that if they mess up in some way they will be put out of the family, rejected because of their mistakes or short comings? This includes extended family. I have heard numerous accounts of families who in the heat of the moment say something that brings a rift into the family causing a separation that is regretted for years to come. This happens because the members of the family do not feel secure in their place in the family. There seems to be restrictions put on the love shared or expectations that are made more important than the place in the family. So, how secure are the members of your family unit in the love that is shared amongst one another? Do your children feel like they can mess up tremendously and yet not lose their place, their security of who they are in the family? Do you? When we begin to look at the holiness of God and the holiness He requires of us it is easy to begin to doubt our place in the family of God. We begin to see the areas where we fall so short and mess up regularly so that they begin to make us feel like we are endeserving of a place in the family of God. It is in those times that we need to remember that our place in the family of God is not determined by how good we are or how much we mess up but is dependent upon the love of God for us in and through the work of Jesus, in life and on the cross for us giving us the security of our belonging in the family.
We can be sure of our security as a child of God based upon Jesus and His work for our unholiness. Even though we are sinful people with deceitful hearts, falling far short of the demand of God for holiness, we can still be secure in Christ’s righteousness credited to us. 1 Cor. 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Our salvation and holiness does not depend on our works but on Christ’s work as the only man who lived a sinless holy life. Heb. 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 1 Peter 2:22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” A quote from Isaiah. Isaiah 53:11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Psalm 45:7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. 1 John 3:5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. Christ’s righteousness is basic to all the scriptures, both OT and NT. Jesus lived a sinless life. How many of us can say that about ourselves? Jesus could even challenge His enemies to examine Him to see if there was any sin in His life. John 8:46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? Kids tell all our secrets especially the sinful ones. He did this in front of His disciples who were with Him 24/7 and even they could not point out any sin in Him. His holiness was more than just self control so to be free of sin it was an attitude of His heart to do only that which was in the will of His Father. John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. His desire and attitude was to live His life to please His Father above any other. John 8:29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” This included His actions and motives along with His attitude. The end never justified the means for Him, if the means were against His Father’s will. Kids doing something good to get something they want selfishly. Wrong motives but right action. When it comes to our striving toward holiness, our motives must be holy, that is coming from our desire to do things because they are God’s will not so we can just get something. Every thought we have should be holy just as Jesus’ were, because God knows them even before we have thought through them fully in our minds. A problem Jesus never had because He alone perfectly met all the standards God has established. Matt. 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. The awesome thing about this is that He came to do it for us. Gal. 4:4–5 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
Blemishes on a clear face seem to stand out. There will be times when we consider the holiness of God and His demand for our holiness, that we feel insecure in our place in the family of God. These are the times when the blemishes of our sinfulness seem to stand out because we know how much God hates sin, which causes us to shrink back in insecurity, feeling convicted. This is when we need the assurance, more than ever, that Jesus came to die for those short falls of ours, to pay for them. If we get caught up in the negative of our sin it will keep us from striving toward the holiness God desires of us. We will want to just give up. But when we remember what Christ has done for us and our standing before the Lord we will desire to move forward. 2 Cor. 5:21 It will be in those low times when the enemy will come rushing in to remind us of how unholy we are. It is in those times we need to remind him and ourselves that Jesus paid for all our sins. Col. 2:13-15 There will be many times in our walk toward holiness when we will have to run to the cross to find the security we need because we have found ourselves fallen short. We will again need to remind ourselves as Paul did; 1 Tim. 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. These are the times when we will fall before Christ in worship and thankfulness for what He has done for us, what we are secure in.
Another thing abut Christ’s holiness we must remember and put into action; The way He lived His life, His holiness and righteousness, sinlessness, was meant to be an example to us of how to live our lives. 1 Pet. 2:19-25 It is to Jesus we are to look when we can not get it right. We look at the way He lived in order to please the Father. Eph. 5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 1 Cor. 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. In those times when we don’t know what to do or to say we must ask our selves, “What would Jesus do here or what would be pleasing to the Father in this circumstance?” Our security in the family of God does not depend on our works but on Jesus’ work for us and His example for us to follow.
All this leaves us with a few questions to contemplate for our lives: Do we love the Lord enough and are we grateful enough to Him for our salvation, to strive to live our lives so they are pleasing to Him? This will take some sacrifices on our part. Rom. 12:1–2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Are we willing to look at all our activities, all our goals and plans and even our impulsive actions in light of the fact to see if they are pleasing to God or not? If we decide to take these steps it will take great effort on our part. We will need to get closer to God, knowing Him better and better, through the study of His word and in heart felt prayer, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and examine us.
It will mean we have to take time, a moment or more, to consider if what we are going to do is pleasing to God before we act and do it.
Easier to ask for forgiveness instead of permission. We should never think we can do something and then just ask forgiveness for it, this would be making light of what Jesus did for us. 1 Cor. 11:27-29
Jesus never lived His life that way instead He decided He had come to do only that which was the Father’s will. Heb. 10:7 Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, O God.’ ” He is the example we are to follow and the security we are to rest in when we get it wrong.
In all our thoughts, actions, every part of our character, the ruling principle that motivates and guides us should be the desire to follow Christ in doing the will of the Father.
This is the only path that leads us to the holiness God desires for us, while knowing that the security of our place in the family does not depend on our efforts but on Christ’s effort for us.
