“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).
What a tough act to follow!
Have you ever seen a little boy on the beach, walking with his dad and leaping to make his footprints match with his father’s? That’s how I feel sometimes when I try to follow Christ’s example—like my legs are too short, my efforts too small. I feel like I can never measure up... I go from one extreme to another: determined to never make a single misstep and beat myself up for my failures or give up and decide it’s not worth the struggle. It’s an exhausting pendulum. And I was weary—beaten down by life and my own unrealistic expectations.
The trap of perfectionism had a firm hold on my life until I crumbled under the pressure of that trick of Satan. I believed that I was called to be perfect in every way: holy and beyond reproach—that to be human and express the overwhelming and natural emotions that we face was a sign of weakness and sin.
My misunderstanding of Romans 8 and the condemnation of the flesh actually had me condemning Christ, who came in the flesh.
I thank God for His infinite patience with me, His child, as he gently revealed truths about Christ and His example as human and holy. Because holy does not mean perfect. It means set apart.
I recognized that I’ve not only been given an example, but also grace that helps make up the difference when I fail.
We have no better example for how to live a holy life, love God, and love others, than the example Christ gave for us while here on the earth.
There is no emotion or circumstance we face that Christ has not also known.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).
And if you’re curious about how we can follow Christ’s holy example in challenging human situations, I invite you to check out the first interactive Bible study book God led me to write, Human AND Holy.