1 John 3:4-10

1 John 3:4-10 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  When I was a kid, I'd spend my Saturdays in the driveway listening to the Reds games on the radio, pretending to be Eric Davis or Chris Sabo.  I loved the Reds, imagining myself playing third base for the Reds when I grew up.  But if we're being honest, I can't say that I practiced like I wanted to make that dream a reality -- while I enjoyed playing baseball, I never dedicated myself to it with bottomless dedication.  I didn't wake early to practice, and I didn't stay up late practicing, and as a result, I'm not a major league baseball player. 
  When we think about our Christian lives, we all want to be better Christians.  We want to be more faithful, and we want to have better disciplines.  However, if we're not careful, we don't invest the time and energy into practicing our faith daily, and we miss out on much of what God wants for our lives.  It's amazing how easy it is to let little things become big things and to promise ourselves we'll do better tomorrow.
  There is certainly grace for where we fail.  We aren't called to be perfect, and faith is a work that God is doing in us.  Our entrance into eternal life does not depend on us figuring out how to be perfect Christians.  But that doesn't mean we shouldn't push forward, practicing our faith daily, drawing closer to God so that the world might see God at work in and through us, even our weaknesses, as God displays his power through our weakness.