Getting back on the horse

There is a passage in Romans chapter 7 where Paul, who is probably the influential Christian of all time shares that he has a problem with doing the right thing. He says the things I want to do, I don't do; and things that I don't want to do, I end up doing." He also says what a miserable person he felt like because of this flaw. I think many times those who have a relationship with Christ think they have to be perfect and that is a stressful burden to carry. In fact sometimes we may even feel like if I can't do it right I mights as well not even try. Well there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that we can't do it we can't measure up to God's standard. The good news: He doesn't expect us to. Relationship with Christ is not about "guilting" our selves into right behavior. Paul comes to the conclusion in chapter 8, that the only way to succeed in his Christian life is to "give up." Giving up not in the sense of hopelessness but in the way of not trying so hard to be perfect and spend more time simply listening to Gods voice. So instead of moping about his bad decisions, Paul says "I press on and turn my life over to God's hands and let his spirit begin to live through me." The thing that should set Christians apart from the rest of the world is not that they are perfect, but rather, that when we do mess up our confidence is not shattered because it rests in Jesus not in ourselves. So when you mess up, get back on the horse and learn to let Christ's grace and mercy become a part of your life.