Meeting the Mark of God

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

Are you striving to meet the higher calling of the Lord?

Today’s daily devotional: Matt. 5:21-37

Nobody is perfect. As Paul said, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Now, many will disagree with the notion that they are imperfect, especially those who have been baptized and go to church every Sunday.

There was a rich young ruler who came to Jesus and told Him that he was perfect, having kept all of the law. Yet, when Jesus instructed him to sell all he had, give the profits to the poor, and follow Him, the young ruler turned away. You cannot say that you are a keeper of the Mosaic Law but fail in one part of it! That’d mean you failed the law in its entirety.

When Jesus spoke of the commands of murder, adultery, marriage, and making vows/promises to God, He went into far more depth than Moses ever could have. Jesus is the lawgiver. Jesus said, if you’re angry without cause, and curse your brother, that would be equal to murder. Jesus said whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery. In just those two commands, He’d already be able to convict all of us as sinners!

I don’t believe you’re reading today’s devotional because you want to be accused of being a sinner by Christ. No, we desire to be found faultless before the throne of the Lord. In order for us to meet the mark of holiness and righteousness, we need help. Thankfully, God gave us His only begotten Son to not only show us the way to live, but to bear the guilt of our imperfection.

Let us strive to meet the mark today by putting forth our best effort to live faithfully. That even includes our acknowledging the fact that we are imperfect, but knowing that Christ will lift us up.