All Have Fallen Short

"LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken" (Psalm 15).

Okay, this passage makes me laugh. Who can live with God? Oh, you know, those who are blameless...yeah, right! We can try to be good, but we can never, never be perfect. We are selfish, jealous, greedy, miserly, malicious, and broken. So, that means none of us can live with God...without Christ. This is what I love about God. He has high standards. (Perfection is a pretty high standard, isn't it?) He is holy and cannot be contaminated by contact with anything or anyone that is sinful. But He is also loving, the ultimate lover, love itself. And He loved us so much, that He cast all the world's sin on His son for our sakes.

As straightforward as David is in Psalm 15 about what is expected of God's people, Paul is just as straightforward as he explains about this provision for all of us. "But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law (being perfect), has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ" (Romans 3:21-24).

When we truly realize that we are all in need of God's mercy (not getting what we deserve) and grace (getting what we didn't deserve), we ought to become more sympathetic and understanding of each other's flaws. Wasn't God patient and forgiving toward you? We ought to respond in kind to one another.