Being a “good person” is a weak foundation to anchor our lives in because it’s rooted in religion, comparison, and competing with people in our sphere. We’ve either judged ourselves as better or less valuable, and both are prideful because they’re not grounded in how God sees us.
Except for Jesus, every person has sinned and falls short of the glory of God. Some may think, “I’ve never murdered anyone or done what horrible thing this person did,” but if we have hate in our heart towards anyone, we’re a murderer.
The only mirror to show how we truly “measure up” is the mirror of Jesus – His reflection shows us who we are. When we believe Him as if it’s something we can grasp and run towards, His grace begins to transform us into His likeness, not our religious self-effort and “good works.” This is what truly “believing in Jesus” means.
These are the “rules” we are to “compete” by.
1 John 3:15 – “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 – “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
2 Timothy 2:5 – “And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 – “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Learn more about author Karen Sperl by listening to the radio interview with Kate Delaney, or visiting her Spirit Superfood page on Facebook and TikTok.