I think a lot of Christians - especially new ones - have the idea that they are s-o-o-o far 'below' some other Christians. They think these others are so superior to them, so 'spiritual.' Not so!
Having been in the church from birth, and having lived in a Christian home, I can tell you without hesitation there are no Super Saints. Every Christian that ever lived is merely a sinner saved by grace. A lot of grace.
My childhood was as near perfect as a childhood could possibly be. My parents walked the walk, always. Nevertheless, they were human beings with human natures - the sin nature we are all born with. The knowledge of how human we are, was a part of the knowledge given to my brother and me by our parents. No one needed to convince us we were human ... it was quite evident :-) We knew we needed God's grace.
In fact, the Bible characters were oh! so human! from Page 1, Adam and Eve. And it went downhill from there. That's one of the things I love about God's Word. It tells it like it is, and the people were all 'regular' people, warts and all. Even the 'best' of them were obviously flawed. That's why we all love Peter so much.
Reading about Peter makes us all think that maybe we can make it to heaven. But, really, the thought the WE can do one thing to merit salvation is the first mistake. WE can do absolutely nothing. Jesus Christ did it all. He is the only one who was found to be qualified.
Oh, I was raised around plenty of Christians who wanted people to think they were super saints. All that is, is self-deception - thinking too much about the great impression we make is ... uh, pride. Don't misunderstand. We need to be as good examples as we can, and a be good role model (pastor's daughter speaking here...), but any goodness we truly have has nothing to do with us, really. Any true saintliness others may see in us could only come from the Holy Spirit shining through. And if we can see the Spirit of Christ shining through someone, that person has made a priority of making himself available for use by the Lord. Probably isn't thinking much about him or her self at all.
On the other hand, as we walk the Christian pathway, there would be something desperately wrong if we did not grow in grace and spiritual maturity, which produces humility. After many years walking with the Lord we should actually be becoming a good example of what a Christian is. Like Paul, we should be able to guide and lead others, by our increasingly Christlike life.
And, even then, we will not be perfect by any means. Not in this life. We will still have those things about ourselves that we don't want to 'show off.' Perhaps things that aren't even wrong or sinful. Perhaps things that are. Rough edges still to be smoothed out by the Potter.
Don't make the mistake of thinking there are people who are Super Saints. And never try to pass yourself off as one. We are most effective when we share our flaws and shortcomings, when we realize we are just sinners eager to share with others how the Great Transformer has changed us, and will continue to change us as we daily submit and walk with Him.
The goal is to be holy as Christ is holy. It will not be fully achieved until we leave this earth realm. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus. That's why He said, "Follow me."
A Child of The King
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