to live in Jesus

When will I ever learn that spiritual growth is not a result of my trying harder - but rather a happy by-product of looking to Jesus? Plants do not grow by looking at themselves and saying, "Grow, grow, grow!" but by reaching out their leaves and lifting up their heads to the sun, to catch its warmth and light. Christians do not grow by looking at their failures and determining to do better, but by becoming as it were, intoxicated with Jesus, enraptured by Him, filled with such a wonder at His mercy, His righteousness, His love for them, that they cannot help but to become like Him.

This is the answer to so much of my struggle: not to promise to do better, nor to drown in my guilt, but to revel in the grace and love of Jesus who died for me, and so to love Him more. The sum of all the commandments really is, to love God with all that you are, and to love your neighbor as yourself. If you do those things, you will be keeping all God's law, without focusing on keeping it. Righteousness was never meant to be attained by keeping the law ("...Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law." (Rom.9:31-32)). It was meant to be by faith ("now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed... even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe." (Rom.3:21-22)).

To live in Jesus! This is the answer.