Falling short

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" writes Paul in Romans 3.23. But what does it mean to "fall short of the glory of God"?

The analogy often used is of people attempting to swim the Atlantic Ocean (or perhaps the Indian Ocean for those of us who live on Australia's west coast). Some will barely make it past the surf. Others will swim a few hundred yards. The great heroes of the faith may struggle for several kilometers (out to Rottnest Island perhaps). But no-one will come anywhere near reaching the other side of the ocean, which represents the standard which God requires of us.

Another analogy (used by Gordon Cheng, author of the The Free Gift of Life study guide to Romans 1-5) is of an exam. Everyone knows what's in the exam and has access to the material they need to pass. Some (the Jews) have been given extra tuition by the examiner. But in the end everyone fails. No-one pays enough attention or puts in enough effort to pass.

The problem with these analogies is that they make the standard which God sets seem rather arbitrary and impersonal. Who would ask us to swim across the ocean and what would that achieve? They could suggest that God is unreasonable or even cruel in the standards he demands. If every student fails an exam, it's usually the teacher who has some explaining to do. It seems to me that we need another way of explaining what God requires.

As Gordon Cheng points out, it is "the faithfulnesss of Jesus Christ" rather than "faith in Jesus Christ" which reveals God's righteousness, despite how most modern translations translate Romans 3:22. In Jesus we have not an analogy but a living demonstration of sinless obedience. He has literally "fleshed out" what it means to live life in such a way that humanity doesn't fall short of the glory of God.

I'm not suggesting that the primary purpose of Jesus' incarnation was to show us how to live. His primary purpose was to die for us so that we could be reconciled to God despite our failure to live his way. But Jesus death could only be effective for us because he was both human and sinless. His death was the ultimate expression of living in perfect obedience to God. We can point to his life and say "Look, this is what pleases God."

What we see in Jesus is not rigid adherence to a set of rules, but loving obedience to a person. That included obedience to what was revealed of God's will in scripture, but also obedience to God's moment-by-moment directions for his life. The Pharisees were scrupulous to obey God's written instructions, but deaf to his present word. Jesus lived constantly listening.

Jesus shows us that a life of sinless obedience doesn't mean a life of impassivity. He experienced and expressed all the human emotions but in a way that was attuned to God's view of things. He wept over the things that grieved his Father, he was angry at those things that angered his Father, he loved as his Father loved.

Jesus shows us that the life God call us to is an active life in which obedience will sometimes bring us into conflict with others. Sometimes it will require getting our hands and feet dirty and mixing with 'sinners'. God doesn't call us to be nice, but to be truly good. It is a life lived courageously.

Jesus shows us that weakness is not sin. He knew hunger and tiredness. At times he grew weary and needed to withdraw from the crowds to be alone with his Father. He knew what it was to be tempted, and to feel hesitant, even resistant, to obeying God's will for him. His perfect sinlessness came through overcoming rather than spurning weakness.

In Jesus we see sinless obedience expressed in a life that was attractive and winsome to those who were seeking God. When we look at him and how he lived we immediately recognise that we are not like him. We all fall well short of what is pleasing to God. But we long to be like him. He is "the glory of God" revealed.