It was not to live a mediocre Christian life in this world, that our Lord mercifully saved us from eternal destruction and has made us his children. The word of God is clear in that he expects us to be like him when he returns. While we are in this world, we have to strive – not in the strength of our own failing flesh; but in the enabling strength of the Holy Spirit towards PERFECTION, which is our ultimate goal. Our spiritual life is always in a state of growth and development, deeply rooted in the word of God, drawing nourishment like a tree planted by streams of water to yield fruits in season, even the fruit of the spirit. (Psalm I ). If we do our part in this process, God is just and faithful to do his part of sanctifying us entirely (1. Thess.5:23-24). The responsibility of purifying ourselves daily lies with us as is clearly stated on I John 3:2,3 “But we know that when he appears we shall resemble HIM… and everyone who has this hope resting on Him. Purifies himself as he is pure”, and 2 Cor.7:1.. Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit and complete our dedication (holiness) in reverence of God”.
As it was the cry and longing of the Apostle Paul, let it be our own longing also to “press on to perfection”, (Heb. 6:11) until the Lord returns when we shall see him face to face in all the beauty of his holiness when we shall be like him too!
One of the major set backs that contribute to the failure of our victorious Christian life is the uncontrolled use of our tongue. James 1:26 says that our religion is worthless if we cannot bridle our tongue. From the very mouth of our Lord we know that for every careless and idle word that we speak, we are accountable on the Day of Judgment. We invite your attention to the article ‘The use of the tongue’ by Elias Alaskan in this issue which will help us to judge ourselves in this important matter so that we can grow towards perfection; so that on the Day of Judgment we may be found perfect.
“If we scrutinized ourselves, then we should not be judged” 1 Cor. 11:31 (Berkeley version).
