If you try to be righteous, to impress God or others with good works,
that is a form of pride.
To attain righteousness is surrendering completely to Him
allowing Him to cleanse away all sin.
He wants our all with all our faults and misgivings.
If we are weak in some area, He has the strength for us.
People were always trying to figure out what Jesus wanted.
Jesus told those who asked.
His answers gave us direction.
He never really told people what they expected Him to say.
Jesus has a way with words, doesn’t He?
In this parable, He gave an example of what people should do to be
successful in God’s sight.
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying,
Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind;
and thy neighbour as thyself.
And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
And Jesus answering said,
A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him,
and passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed,
came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine,
and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence,
and gave them to the host, and said unto him,
Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again,
I will repay thee.
Which now of these three, thinkest thou,
was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him.
Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. Luke 10:25-37
The Good Samaritan was the one who was not impressed with himself.
God was happy with him and He used him and his actions and attitude
as a way to teach others what God is looking for.
The lawyer had a position in the Earthly realm. He knew a lot.
But did he know God’s heart?
The second great commandment is to Love thy neighbor as thyself.
The first is to Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul and strength.
You cannot say you love God and hate your neighbor, so the two are related.
Then, Jesus gave a new commandment while He walked on Earth.
A new commandment I give unto you,
That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 13:34
All the commandments are wrapped in love.
They are all intertwined with the word of God.
Loving our enemies, helping widows and orphans,
giving to those who ask of you
and honoring God by giving mercy to others as He has given mercy to you.
There should be no debate that God wants us to love.
So by loving, can it be fake? The act can be. The love cannot.
God will know the difference as He knows the intentions of our hearts.
If we try to impress humans or God, that won’t fly with Him.
If others find us honorable, that does not mean Jesus does.
But when thou doest alms,
let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
That thine alms may be in secret:
and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.
Matthew 6:3-4
You want to be righteous?
God is the only one who can make that determination.
Jesus will honor what is done for Him with a pure heart.
Anything done in our own self righteousness will be emptiness.
He considers our righteousness as filthy rags,
that is, our own efforts at righteousness to be a fail.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Isaiah 64:6
Then, where is the hope? Who can attain this blameless state?
The disciples asked that about salvation
when Jesus was talking about how hard it is
for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God.
What Jesus said was difficult for the disciples to understand.
But Jesus beheld them,
and said unto them, With men this is impossible;
but with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26
There is hope for the impossible. It is found in Jesus.
He has the way for us to be purified and clean and even holy.
Let Him cleanse your heart.
David said: Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me.
David never said, Look how I have cleaned my heart Lord!
Let Jesus discipline you and teach you and cleanse your heart.
Jesus’ word is alive and His Holy Spirit is right near to teach us
and lead us and guide us into all truth.
We will never arrive. We will always need Jesus.
We never get to the point of holiness without Him.
It is only in Him we are able to be pure before Him.
Remain humble.
We don’t attain the gift of salvation and get to wear it like a badge of honor.
Our mission is to preach the gospel to every creature,
to bring as many into the kingdom as will come.
To share Jesus’ message with as many as will accept Him.
That seems to be an impossible task.
His sacrifice and His mercy is what we will always need.
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:32