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How could I have missed it?
Jesus did not proclaim the Sermon on the Mount so that we would furrow our brows in despair over our failure to achieve perfection. He gave it to impart to us God’s Ideal toward which we should never stop striving, but also to show that none of us will ever reach that Ideal. The Sermon on the Mount forces us to recognize the great distance between God and us, and any attempt to reduce that distance by somehow moderating its demands misses the point altogether.
–Philip Yancey

Keep striving toward the ideal of Jesus.

Perfectly loving, perfectly compassionate, perfectly humble.
Full of grace, joy, peace, patience.

We will never measure up to his perfect ideal, but we must keep striving to do so, knowing that the great distance that exists between us and God is filled up by Jesus’ action on the cross. He measures up for us. And so, because we are so grateful and loving toward this One who first loved us, we keep striving to be exactly like Him.

Why be a law-abiding citizen?
While it is certainly true that justification frees one forever from the need to keep the law, or try to, as the means of earning life, it is equally true that adoption lays on one the abiding obligation to keep the law, as the means of pleasing one’s newfound Father.
–J. I. Packer

Paul said to the church in Ephesus:
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us new in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Good works don’t get you into heaven with Jesus.
But once you have Jesus and have been adopted into the family by the loving God of all… you will want to do the good works that please Him!

Go out and “keep the law” doing the the things that honor God not to try to earn His love, but in gratitude for His great love that He has freely given to us.

[Based upon Jesus’ model of suffering for us…]
Then shouldn’t we also be the first ones to lay down our lives for others? Shouldn’t we also let someone else benefit from our suffering? Those who are forgiven much love much (Luke 7:47), and those who are the recipients of the benefits of suffering should be the first in line to suffer for others. Our love for and devotion to Christ, coupled with our desire to follow His example, should compel us to suffer on others’ behalves with enthusiasm–with gusto.
–Anonymous, Embracing Obscurity

Gusto is a strange word. And not one we probably use very often.
But I like how the author used it here, indicating that we should suffer on the behalf of others with enthusiasm and gusto. It seems such a foreign idea to us — To be enthusiastic to suffer.

And yet…
We see suffering with gusto in Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.

We see suffering with gusto in the apostles who rejoiced that they had been counted worthy to be beaten and suffer public disgrace due to the name of Jesus.

We see suffering with gusto in many of the martyrs who willingly died for their faith in Jesus.

And we are called to be enthusiastic to suffer for the Name and cause of Jesus.
May we suffer with gusto for Him and His Kingdom.

We need to ask ourselves: …What do I intend to do with my knowledge about God, once I have it? …If we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake, it is bound to go bad on us. It will make us proud and conceited…. There can be no spiritual health without doctrinal knowledge; but it is equally true that there can be no spiritual health with it, if it is sought for the wrong purpose and valued by the wrong standard.
–J. I. Packer

Knowledge about God is a good and helpful thing. God has revealed Himself to us so that we can know about Him. However, if we are not using that knowledge to help us become more holy and more like Jesus, then we are using it in the wrong way. Many ungodly men have much knowledge of the Bible. Satan himself, the most ungodly being in all of creation, knows so very much about the Bible.

Knowing the Bible and knowing about God does not help us if we do not know God and have a relationship with Him. I pray that God will help me use the knowledge I have about Him to lead me into a deeper relationship with Him. Also, I hope that I will not allow the knowledge I have about God to increase my pride nor make me conceited. Rather I hope that the knowledge I have about His holiness and love for me in my sinfulness will lead me into greater humility and love for Him and others.

What do you love?
You will certainly become what you love.
Do you love holiness? Then you will become holy.
Do you love the Word of God? Then you will become like Christ, the living Word.
Do you love the name of Jesus? Then your life will manifest His name before all men.
–Stephen Arterburn & Fred Stoeker

Jesus help me to love holiness to become more holy.
Jesus help me to love the Bible and live out its principles and precepts.
Jesus help me to love Your Name and honor You before all men.

And Jesus, help me to love You and become more like You, imitating You in all I do.