Why Does God Set the Standard So High?

Why Does God Set the Standard So High?:

As I try to be a better person, and a better Christian in general, I have often wondered about the standard Jesus sets for his followers. 

He sets it very high. Extremely High. Unreachably high. He tells us to love our enemies and pray for them, a standard a great many Christians fail to meet.

He tells us that if someone wants to take your shirt, let them, and give them your cloak as well. Again, most Christians, and most people, never meet this standard.

He tells us that if someone strikes you, turn other other cheek and let them strike you there as well. Another standard almost no one meets.

He tells us not to judge, and boy do many Christians fall short on this one.

There are a great many other examples of the high standard Jesus sets for us. Jesus sets a standard so high that its all but impossible to meet for human beings, yet he met all of them. 

I believe Jesus did this, in part, to remind believers of the absolute necessity of God's grace. This impossible standard serves as a demonstration of what God considers to be perfection, as well as what God considers to be the highest pedestal of glory. 

But above all, it serves as a reminder that without the grace of God provided to us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our shortcomings and failures to reach this impossibly high standard could never be reconciled and the gap between us and the perfection of God could never be bridged. 

However, I also believe He expects us to put forth the best and most diligent effort we can possibly put forth to actually achieve this impossibly high standard, even if we face certain failure. If Jesus didn't expect this effort from us, he most certainly wouldn't have laid down the ground-rules to begin with.

I must confess, I fail every day, every minute, at reaching this standard. I am vengeful and bitter in my thoughts and words. I am not a very forgiving person. The most important thing that I can do, even though I am going to fail a lot, is try and try and try to be better.

 I rest assured that Jesus paid for all my mistakes and sins, and even though I will continue to fail, the battle for my salvation and my eternity with the LORD is already won. What a joy that realization brings, but I must, I MUST, continue to try to reach that impossibly high standard.

Have a grace-filled and blessed evening, dear friends.