Fail Big. It's Ok.

I am truly kind and generous to all people. Until I'm not. I do all the things God asks of me. Until I don't. I refrain from harming others. Until I do. I know how to be good. But I'm consistently drawn to mistakes, errors, misjudgments, judgmentalism, failures, and doubts. Total goodness seems to elude me, no matter how hard I try.

The good news is that my eternal salvation doesn't rest on my ability to be good. God has promised that my salvation is a gift I cannot earn and I cannot lose. The better news is that freedom allows me to try things I might fail at. It allows me to push myself beyond my perceived limits without the threat of eternal damnation. And I have failed. Epic fails. More than once. With each failure, I have become even more a person God can be proud of. I wouldn't take them back if I could. I like the person I'm becoming, and I know one day I will stand face to face with the God who made me possible.

Narrative Lectionary Text: Galatians 3:10-18

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person’s will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, “And to offsprings,” as of many; but it says, “And to your offspring,” that is, to one person, who is Christ. My point is this: the law, which came four hundred thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.