Did you know that there is no such thing as a good Christian? In spite of how "together" our lives may seem from outward appearances, we are all just Christians living by faith in Jesus Christ--no one person is better than another. In Luke 18:18-19 Jesus was asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to deserve eternal life?" Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good--only God.

Oh no! If Jesus did not consider himself good, what chance do we have of living godly lives? It seems impossible. Yet, Jesus pleased God completely and never sinned. How did he do it?

Jesus relied and depended upon the power of the Holy Spirit to keep him from sin. Jesus did this 100% of the time--he never sinned even when severely tempted to do so. Although we may be, for the most part, law-abiding citizens who try to do the right thing, we still fall short in some area. The key to overcoming our weaknesses instead of them overcoming us is obedience.

In Luke 18:20-30 (The Message) we see a perfect example of a dilemma facing a very "nice" man who sensed that he was not good enough. Jesus responds to his question, "What must I do to deserve eternal life?"

• You know the commandments, don't you? No illicit sex, no killing, no stealing, no lying, honor your father and mother."
  
• He said, "I've kept them all for as long as I can remember."
  
• When Jesus heard that, he said, "Then there's only one thing left to do: Sell everything you own and give it away to the poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me."
  
• This was the last thing the official expected to hear. He was very rich and became terribly sad. He was holding on tight to a lot of things and not about to let them go.
  
• Seeing his reaction, Jesus said, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who have it all to enter God's kingdom? I'd say it's easier to thread a camel through a needle's eye than get a rich person into God's kingdom."
  
• "Then who has any chance at all?" the others asked.
  
• "No chance at all," Jesus said, "If you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it."

The point of the story is: Even nice people fall short of the glory (perfection) of God and must trust God to save them. No matter how many things we do that are right there is always at least one area of weakness in our character.

For the man in this parable, the love of money and material possessions was a problem in his life. He did not have a problem with treating people right or lying and stealing. Jesus knew that wealth was the only thing that the man loved more than God, so he asked him to turn this area over to God by giving away his possessions.

This was a difficult instruction to follow. After all if he gave away everything, who would take care of him? How would he eat? Where would he live? What would people think of him if he had nothing? He left in sadness thinking that he would lose by obeying God. The opposite was true. In the next verses, Jesus told what would happen from that kind of obedience...

"No one who has sacrificed home, spouse, brothers and sisters, parents, children-whatever-will lose out. It will all come back multiplied many times over in your lifetime. And then the bonus of eternal life!" (Luke 18:30, The Message)

Unfortunately, the rich ruler in the story didn't obey; as a result, he never knew what he would have gained by obeying God. Our role as believers is to trust God enough to obey his instructions. God's instructions are given to lead us to an abundant life and are often times things we need to do to break a strong hold in our lives.

As we demonstrate our faith through obedience in the difficult areas of our lives, the Holy Spirit will strengthen us in that area. Weaknesses or character flaws that are submitted to God's will, create opportunities for God's glory to shine. When God's glory is operating in our lives, we can do the impossible--even give up things we think we cannot do without!

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:8, NIV)

Don't try to be good. Strive to be obedient.

About the Author: Valerie Morrow was born-again at the tender age of 5, but has been chasing Jesus and the will of God seriously for about 10 years. As a busy (we prefer the word productive) wife, mother, entrepreneur, leader, ministry student and writer, she focuses on being well-balanced, as a necessity in life. Valerie has been a waitress, a secretary, a receptionist, a marketing assistant, an account coordinator, an account manager, a marketing director, a business owner and the "candy lady." She has learned the meaning of being secure in Christ regardless of your position or function in life and loves to share her insights through devotionals, bible studies and "self- improvement" articles from a Biblical perspective. Valerie is the wife of Henry Morrow and the mother of Henry and Charli Kathryn. She is an active member of Without Walls International Church under the leadership of Sr. Pastor Paula White in Tampa, Florida.