“Forgive as you have been forgiven.” Colossians 3:12

The legalistic quest for perfection is a natural one in my life--but it is futile. Every day I fail multiple times to do what is right in my thought life, or in some words spoken, or in some choice, action or relationship.

On one hand this is part of being a fallen person living in a fallen world, (although I must hasten to add that this is not a valid excuse for choosing failure).

On the other hand, our failures can be fertile ground for spiritual growth.

This past year, and especially this summer, I made a number of choices that did not work out for the best. Almost all of these were made with the intent of doing good, and many for doing what was best.

However, there were also heavy strands of wrong motives woven into the fabric of the decisions, and these marred the final product. For instance, jumping in to give good advice to a person who is not ready to hear it. Many would not consider such failures to be all that bad, but when I consider how they can affect outcomes, they are significant.

The bottom line, however, is what I do with my failures. God allows them and will use them for profit. Tomorrow I will tell you some good things I learned to utilize these failures for good and growth.