Our inner virtues should match our outward appearance. This is not just for the benefit of others but also because God knows our hearts and judges our lives accordingly. Thus, we need to take care to walk pure in His presence just as the angels do. Daily spiritual habits will protect our growth.
Each day we ought to encourage our hearts to be zealous for God and not lose our first love. Pray “God help me to keep my commitments and serve You faithfully today. Give me grace to love you well today. Change my inner self into the image of Christ.”
Our progress will depend on how well we fulfill our responsibilities before the Lord. God keeps His responsibility; we only falter when we fail to keep ours. Thus our hearts must be fully committed each day. Even those who wholeheartedly commit themselves to God fall short sometimes; how much more will those stumble who only commit halfheartedly? And we have to make extra effort to overcome our weak areas. Many forces try to weaken our resolve.
Yet even our resolutions are dependent on God for we need Him to provide the desire and power to be faithful.
It is important to examine our lives each day. Whether we do this as we go along or at the end of the day, we need to reflect on our attitudes and actions so we don’t fool ourselves into avoiding our offenses.
This post is partly based on chapter 19 of the classic The Imitation of Christ.
