Being Blameless?

1 Thessalonians 3:13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.  
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1 Thessalonians 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
WHAT do you think of Paul urging the Thessalonians twice here to be blameless at the coming of Jesus? Does he have too much expectation of a sinful heart? And it’s true, isn’t it, that we are blameless in God’s sight as we confess, “Jesus is my Lord and Savior.” Paul teaches this in Colossians 1:22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. Six other times Paul and Peter urge us in their letters to live blameless lives, modeling Jesus’ life: He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. (Hebrews 7:26) What are the apostles teaching us?
   In the Greek meaning, “blameless” is “not causing others to stumble.” We are to continually pursue a more loving, personal relationship with God, so we will know what is true and right to do. Yes, we are made blameless through our faith confession. In response to this great gift, we  have a responsibility to live as purely as possible. Yes, we will make mistakes of course. Sin is impossible to leave behind completely. But sin gets farther and farther away from us as we walk closer and closer to God. Live blamelessly for God in your heart, so you will show the world who God is.
   As in all things, Jesus is our “blameless” model. He demonstrates through is life as a man how he continually kept the Father in him and he was in the Father. How did he do so? Jesus listened, prayed, obeyed, submitted, sacrificed, taught, preached and loved. God in the flesh is blameless. Our task is to strive for that same type of blameless relationship to open our love more deeply for the Holy Trinity.
   When a special guest is coming to your house, you may strive to make your home as blameless, as clean and prepared, as possible. You may not achieve perfection, but your visitor will know you have deliberately prepared for his arrival. This enhances your relationship with your guest because he knows you worked to please him.
   As we await Jesus’ coming, our task is to live as our blameless Lord lived.  You will show the world you value your relationship with your Lord. This will bring much glory and praise to God. (Philippians 1:11)