Continuing from Stephen E. Robinson and his book ‘Believing Christ’, a previous post Why the Demand for More?
One of the purposes of the Church is to perfect the Saints. Since we make the most progress working at the limits of our abilities, then no matter how much we do or how well we do it, the Lord, like the spotter in the gym will always ask for more, will always seek improvement, will always push us toward perfection. Since our very real goal is perfection, the demands of the Spotter can be turned up to infinity and will exceed the abilities of any individual. We just need to remember that our salvation is not hanging in the balance, for that issue is already settled if we are keeping our covenants. We shouldn’t get embarrassed when we reach our limits or take offence when we can’t do all that is asked of us. Rather we must take satisfaction in performing at the limits of our ability (for that is where the real power is gained) and let God worry about the rest. When pressed by the demands of perfection, we must remind ourselves that our best efforts will be accepted as payment in full—at least for now.
The “easiness” of the Savior’s yoke does not mean we can expect to be excused from the hard tasks of life or be immune to its hard realities. (Ask Job or the Mormon pioneers about that.) Rather his yoke is easy (a) because he makes what was impossible possible and (b) because he grants compensatory blessings and grace to help us through the hard times. The yoke of the law of Moses could not even be lifted, but the yoke of Christ can be lifted because its weight is individually adapted to our abilities and strength. In this sense “easy” does not mean “totally without effort,” rather it means, “totally within our power.” But even beyond this, those who assume his yoke in humble obedience and consecrate their efforts to him, soon learn that an unseen hand lightens the load in the rough spots and leaves blessings out of all proportion to the required sacrifices.
Individual Perfection
But will I ever be perfect in the sense of being without effort, fault, or blemish? I mean me separately and individually, apart from my covenant perfection-in-Christ? I think the answer is yes. For example, I envision a scene about a million years from now, after we’ve been in the celestial kingdom a very, very long time. I will approach the Savior and say something like, “OK, I finally did it. I have overcome eating fruit out of season (or whatever). Now, what comes next?” And he will look at me and say, “Hey—that was it! Congratulations! That was the last one. You have finally learned to keep all the commandment all of the time!” And I suppose we’ll invite in the neighborhood and have a little “Steve-finally-made-it” party.
But that’s a million years from now, and long after the resurrection of the just. In the mean time my only hope is that Christ will carry me on His shoulders. Between now and then my only hope of perfection is the perfection-in-Christ that he shares with those in the gospel covenant, for that very perfection-in-Christ and nothing else is what will allow me into the celestial kingdom at the day of judgment. ~Stephen E. Robinson, Believing Christ (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019), (p. 181-184 Dwarsligger edition)
