{then who?}

People disappoint people. People let other people down. People hurt people. 

People are broken and sinful.

Parents, siblings, friends, parents of friends, acquaintances, people you don't even know personally but know enough about them (through countless hours of stalking on social media...come on, I can't be the only one) to basically know them...we all have those in our lives who we look up to. We watch and try to imitate the way they live, we listen closely when they talk, we run to them for advice, encouragement and wisdom...these people, in our eyes, seem to have their lives together and are pretty darn close to perfect. We unconsciously put them on a pedestal, wanting to be like them, thinking that they know all, assuming that they don't have struggles, and if they do, then they fix them so easily...

Maybe you start reading the books they read, singing the songs they sing, wearing the kind of clothes they wear, praying the way the way they pray, posting the kinds of things they post, telling other people what they told you as something that is most important and life changing...you name it.

In our eyes these people are the people we strive to be like, in attitudes, actions, and words. These people, whoever it is in your life, have become idols of ours. 

So when they fall and prove to be human after all, it hurts us because of how much of our "hope" we put into them. We hoped in them to be the perfect example for us, someone we can always trust to make the right decision, do the right thing...

I struggle with this. The Lord has put some pretty amazing people in my life and I definitely look up to them and glean whatever wisdom I can from their words and lives. But I am also guilty of lifting these people up too high in my heart, putting so much pressure on them to be perfect and always know the right thing to do and do it, expecting them to show me the way. Then they fall. They mess up, and sometimes they mess up bad, and it hurts me. It hurts to see them make the wrong decision, to take the wrong path, to see that they are fallen. Just like I am.

"No one is righteous, no not one..." (Romans 3:10)

"For ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23)

No one is perfect, and that's biblical y'all. (^^)

The people we put so much store in are fallen humans just like us. We have to be so careful to not put our hope in man because they will fail and we will fall down right there with them.

It's true that there are NUMEROUS people who are incredibly wise, and the Lord is working wonders in their hearts to be leaders, examples, someone for us to look up to, someone we can imitate, learn from, run to for advice and encouragement...this world has so many people in it that I will always look up to and treasure as an example in my life. I will run to them when I'm in trouble, ask them for help. I will listen closely and glean wisdom from their words. 

And, if they are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, I will expect them to make the right decisions, to do the right thing, to show others the right way...

But I need to stop putting my hope in them as the one who is the way to go, the standard by which I should live. If I continue to put my hope in people, I will continue to be disappointed and hurt. They will continue to let me down. Because: "...no one is perfect...all have sinned..."

And I have to also stop putting my hope in myself. I'm no better than anyone else, I mess up, I disappoint, I make the wrong decisions, I let people down...Try and try as I might I am every bit as much of a fallen human being as the next person. I need to take myself off the pedestal of my heart. 

Then who? What hope do we have? Who is the perfect example and one we can trust and hope in?

Well let me tell you:

JESUS.

Man will fail us, but God is holy and righteous forever and ever. He won't ever mess up, He won't ever let us down. 

He IS the right Way. He is the true Way. He is the ONLY Way. 

Our Lord, our King Jesus, is perfect. He is the perfect example, the One we need to run to, the One Whose life we need to look at and strive to live accordingly, the One we need to ask for help...He is the only Way!

"You know that (Jesus) appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin." (1 John 3:5)

"I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life..." (John 14:6)

Jesus is perfection personified. He is the Son of the most high God, the Creator and Upholder of the world, in Whom there is no blemish or flaw.  He is the ultimate example that we must be basing our lives off of. He needs to be our standard. He is the One my friends, He is the One Who should be on the pedestal of our hearts, not the people around us who will let us down because of their imperfections.

We have transgressed against God's law, we have offended Him to the highest degree. We deserve nothing but death. 

BUT GOD.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

It's a well known verse, but it's the Gospel that we need everyday! Despite our sins and dark hearts, God sent Jesus to die a death we deserved. He was the perfect sacrifice God needed to be satisfied. He lived a perfect life and died a death that covered us all in perfect grace and mercy. If we put our trust in Him, Jesus Christ, God's Son, we will not perish! We will instead be granted eternal life.

No one else could have done that for us, only Christ. Only Him.

We need to be reading His words, resting in His truths, praying the way He prayed, serve the way He served, love the way He loves, be humble the way He was humble, sing His praises everyday, share Him with others...
He is our Hero, the One we must strive to be like. Run to Him first, and run to Him always!

Be careful friends, brothers and sisters. Be careful not to put too much hope IN the people around you, because they can't save you. Their goodness isn't enough, they will fail. We must remember that Jesus is the only One who can save us, the only One Whose goodness is enough! Hope in Christ.

"It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man." (Psalm 118:8)

"Put not your trust in princes, in son of man, in whom there is no salvation." (Psalm 146:3)

"Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud..." (Psalm 40:4)

"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

People fail. We all fail. We are broken vessels being renewed and sanctified daily by Jesus Christ, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. It's important, so important, to remember that even though we fail continually, if we are in the Lord Most High, Christ's grace extends to us! 

“Our worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace.”  (Jerry Bridges)

Those people in your life that you look up to are important. Treasure them, love them, continue to look up to them. Follow their example, listen to their words, run to them for advice, be challenged and encouraged by them...but don't put unrealistic expectations on them to be perfect. Don't put your hope in them. Don't view them as the perfect examples...because they aren't, and they never can be. It is by God's grace that they live a life according to His Words and His truth, but they themselves aren't the standard. Remember that. 

Remember Christ. He is the standard by which we must live our lives. Make Him your Refuge and Trust!

Love your neighbors. Encourage and challenge them. Hold them accountable. But most importantly: Point them to Christ! Let your encouragements and challenges be Christ centered. Let your advice be biblical and God honoring. Hold them accountable to His standard, not your own. 

Give them grace, oh give them grace! Knowing that Christ has extended the richest of grace and mercy to yourself. When they fall, don't let bitterness and resentment build up in your heart; instead realize that they are broken and need Jesus just like you. Point them to Him. Get over your pride and bring them to the foot of the cross where all failures and sins are taken by Christ and thrown away and the most amazing grace is given. Give them grace and love them.

Lift them up in prayer. Ask the Lord to mold their hearts for His glory, to bring them ever closer to Him! 

We are all broken sinners in desperate need of Jesus and His amazing grace.

We need Jesus, ALL OF US. 

The people around you need Jesus just as much as you do, no more, no less. 

WE JUST NEED JESUS.

"Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:6-7)