God Isn’t Asking You to Be the Perfect Christian

​I think sometimes we can become so busy trying to be a “good Christian” that we forget the whole point is Jesus.

Read enough chapters.

Pray long enough.

Never doubt.

Never struggle.

Always know the right Bible verse.

Never lose your patience.

Serve at church.

Smile.

Be joyful.

Have the perfect quiet time.

And whatever you do…

don’t let anybody know you’re struggling.

Because surely everybody else has this Christian thing figured out.

Right?

…Right? 😂

Except they don’t.

And neither do I.

The longer I follow Jesus, the more I’m realizing:

God isn’t asking me to perform Christianity perfectly.

He’s asking me to follow Him faithfully.

And those are two very different things.

Sometimes We Turn Faith Into a Checklist

Read Bible. ✔️

Pray. ✔️

Go to church. ✔️

Serve. ✔️

Listen to worship music. ✔️

Post inspirational Bible verse. ✔️

Those are all wonderful things.

Please don’t hear me saying they aren’t.

I love Scripture. Prayer matters. Church matters. Serving matters. Worship matters.

But we can do every Christian-looking thing…

and still forget why we’re doing it.

Jesus didn’t die so I could become really good at completing a Christian checklist.

He came to reconcile me to God.

He came so I could know Him.

Your Bible Isn’t a Streak You Have to Protect

Maybe you planned to read your Bible every morning this year.

And then you missed a day.

Then two.

Then somehow it’s been a week.

And instead of opening it again, you feel guilty.

So you avoid it.

Which makes you feel guiltier.

Which makes you avoid it longer.

And suddenly something meant to bring you closer to God has become something you’re ashamed to approach.

Friend…

just open it again.

God isn’t sitting there saying:

“Well, look who finally decided to show up.”

Come back.

Read one chapter.

Read ten verses.

Read one verse and sit with it.

The goal isn’t maintaining a perfect streak.

The goal is knowing God.

Your Prayer Doesn’t Have to Impress Him Either

We’ve talked about this before, but I think it’s worth repeating.

Sometimes prayer is:

“Father, thank You for Your goodness…”

And sometimes prayer is:

“Jesus. Help.”

Both can come from a heart reaching toward God.

You don’t earn extra access to God because your prayer sounded beautiful.

Matthew 6:8 reminds us:

“Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

He already knows what’s underneath your words.

Talk to Him.

You Are Going to Have Questions

Following Jesus doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly understand everything.

There are things in Scripture you’ll wrestle with.

There will be prayers you don’t understand the answer to.

There will be seasons when God feels close.

There may be seasons when He feels quiet.

There will probably be moments when you think:

“Lord… what are You doing?”

Having a question doesn’t mean you’ve abandoned your faith.

Bring the question to God.

Study Scripture.

Talk with mature believers.

Ask your pastor.

Seek truth.

Faith isn’t pretending you understand something when you don’t.

You Will Mess Up

This part is guaranteed.

You are going to lose your patience.

You’re going to say something you shouldn’t.

You’re going to make selfish choices.

You’re going to realize you were wrong.

You’re going to sin.

That isn’t permission to become comfortable with sin.

Following Jesus involves repentance and obedience.

But when you fail, the answer isn’t:

Hide from God until you feel worthy again.

The answer is:

Repent and run back to Him.

1 John 1:9 tells us:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Confess.

Receive His grace.

Learn.

Get back up.

Keep following.

Stop Comparing Your Walk With Someone Else’s

This one can get us.

Especially now.

We see someone’s perfectly highlighted Bible.

Someone else’s beautiful prayer journal.

Someone memorizing Scripture.

Someone serving in five ministries.

Someone who seems to know the answer to every theological question.

And suddenly we’re thinking:

Maybe I’m not doing enough.

But you are seeing a tiny piece of someone else’s walk with God.

You don’t know their struggles.

And more importantly:

God didn’t ask you to become them.

He is forming you.

Fruit Takes Time

Galatians 5 talks about the fruit of the Spirit:

Love.

Joy.

Peace.

Patience.

Kindness.

Goodness.

Faithfulness.

Gentleness.

Self-control.

There’s something I love about that imagery.

It’s fruit.

Fruit grows.

It develops.

It matures.

Nobody plants an apple seed on Monday and screams at the dirt on Tuesday:

“WHY AREN’T YOU AN ORCHARD YET?!” 😂

Growth takes time.

And spiritual growth does too.

Maybe you’re more patient than you were two years ago.

Maybe you forgive faster.

Maybe you’re beginning to recognize conviction sooner.

Maybe you’re praying about things you once tried to control yourself.

Maybe you’re serving.

Maybe you’re asking questions.

Maybe you’re learning to love difficult people.

Maybe you’re becoming more like Jesus little by little.

Don’t become so obsessed with how far you have left to go that you miss what God has already grown in you.

Jesus Wants Your Heart, Not Your Performance

One of the passages that always gets my attention is Matthew 23.

Jesus speaks very strongly against religious leaders who looked righteous outwardly while something completely different was happening inside.

That reminds me:

Looking Christian and following Christ aren’t necessarily the same thing.

I don’t want a faith that only photographs well.

I don’t want to know how to look devoted to Jesus.

I want to actually love Him.

I want Him to change the parts of me nobody sees.

My thoughts.

My motives.

My reactions.

My priorities.

My character.

My heart.

That’s discipleship.

Not pretending we’ve arrived.

Following the One who is taking us somewhere.

So, Imperfect Christian…

Open your Bible again.

Pray the awkward prayer.

Go back to church.

Ask the question.

Repent.

Receive grace.

Serve.

Rest.

Learn.

Get back up.

Keep going.

And most importantly…

keep your eyes on Jesus.

You don’t need to convince everyone around you that you’re a perfect Christian.

There aren’t any.

You need a Savior.

So do I.

And thankfully…

we have One.

His name is Jesus. 💜

🪻 A Prayer

Jesus,

Sometimes I become so focused on whether I’m doing Christianity “right” that I forget simply to be with You.

Forgive me when my faith becomes more about performance than relationship.

I don’t want to merely look like someone who follows You.

I want to actually follow You.

Teach me Your Word.

Teach me to pray.

Convict me when I sin and give me the humility to repent.

Grow the fruit of Your Spirit in my life.

Help me stop comparing my walk with someone else’s.

And when I stumble, remind me that shame isn’t where You asked me to stay.

Let my life become less about appearing like a good Christian…

and more about becoming like Christ.

I love You.

Amen. 💜

Reflection Question(s)

Has following Jesus ever started feeling like a checklist to you?

And if it has:

What would change if your goal today wasn’t to “do enough for God,” but simply to know Him better?