Meet Becca Smith

My teachers always described me as a very conscientious student. I made only two B’s in high school and only one B in college. I tried to follow all the rules and judged my peers’ behavior. I avoided conflict because that would ruin my image of having everything under control. I strived to keep the perfect image, relationships, marriage, and home. My goal was ALWAYS perfection. But here’s the catch: I am not perfect, and no one can be perfect because of sin.

Psalm 14:3 tells us, “They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” And Isaiah 64:6 (MSG) elaborates, “We’re all sin-infected, sin-contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags.” Our best try at being good is like a used-up, dirty rag in comparison to God’s goodness. That's a hard truth for someone like me who believes she can be perfect with enough effort, time, and discipline.

But that’s where the good news of Jesus fills the infinite canyon between our insufficient work and the perfection of God. The word justified means to be declared or made righteous in the sight of God. On my own, I can never be good enough. Only by trusting in the perfect life of Jesus, His death, and resurrection can I, by grace alone, be made right in His sight. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) it says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Because of Jesus, we don’t get the wrath of God we deserve, but rather God’s mercy, forgiveness, and unconditional love. When God looks at me, He sees me as His daughter, holy and blameless. Though I still struggle with perfectionism that I can never attain, I am daily reminded that I am worthy only because of what Jesus has done for me.