We live in a society today, where if something looks difficult, most people steer clear from attempting it. After all, who wants to fail? But what if we are missing all of the instruction and beautiful lessons in the failing that God has for us. Even more, we are commanded to try. (Exodus 20:1-17; Leviticus 20:26; 1 Peter 1:16) "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments." (1 John 2:3)
If you're a Christian, you're not going to life your life perfectly, that's exactly the point. Jesus Christ came not to heal the well, but the sick. We were sick with sin. But in the forgiveness we enjoy and adoption we walk in, we are called to holy living and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what God has called us to do. So, in God's grace and strength, we should be trying to live a life that honors Him.
How will we do what He has commanded, if we don't know what He has commanded? How will we seek to be Holy, if we know nothing of holiness. God has not left us without wisdom or knowledge. He gave us his written word, the Bible, to understand what He asks from us. How will you know what he desires for you if you don't read the Bible and seek to obey it? "
So if we are claiming to be Christians, but show no fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), no desire towards repentance, and no desire to do what God has commanded, then we must seriously question our relationship with God and work to reconcile with Him immediately. (Philippians 2:12) There is grace, mercy, forgiveness, but only for those who bow their knee to Christ in this life. That takes effort, but it's a noble cause.
