Today's Reading: Proverbs 4

 

Growing From A Glimmer

God used this verse from Proverbs to finally get ahold of me and deal with my chronic self-condemnation. When I first received Christ and was born again, I became aware of God’s righteous and holy standards for human behavior. Simultaneously, I became suddenly aware of my own unrighteousness and unholiness. As I looked at my own heart and mind and actions, I became acutely aware of my personal failings. I lived in a constant state of “not-good-enough.” I was trying to “walk the walk” and “talk the talk” but I was just so far away from God’s ideals. My mind was occupied with thoughts of my shortcomings and my heart was burdened with the impossible task of meeting God’s standards.

Then one day, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.” In that moment I realized that the Christian life was not one of instant perfection, but rather one of slow and steady growth. God did not expect me to be perfect! And I did not need to occupy my life with self-condemnation and thoughts of failure. Just as the sun begins to shine brighter as the dawn approaches and the day begins, the path of the Christian is one of spiritual growth – starting out as barely a glimmer and growing day-by-day into the righteous and holy person God intends me to be.

What a freeing experience. I learned that I was not alone struggling with my sin. I was in this Christian life side by side with the God who loved me, and saved me, and will one day bring my spiritual growth to completion in eternity. The Holy Spirit had been dispatched to my spirit to bring me closer and closer to the image of Christ. The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. The Message paraphrase puts it like this, “The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.”

So… Don’t be so hard on yourself! You are not yet what God wants you to be and that’s OK. As you follow Him, and trust Him, the longer you live, the brighter you will shine. “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)