197 Righteous!

There is a certain fear that Christians have about being labeled as self righteous.  The minute you start to speak about things that may be wrong or done better I am amazed how quickly a person can earn the badge as arrogant and self righteous.  In thinking on these things I have come to this tentative and shaky conclusion.  Obviously we indeed are not made righteous by ourselves, but we can be made righteous.  Jesus blood makes us righteous.  If we have been made righteous by Jesus, then wouldn't we have a deep seated desire and urgency to do what He says?  What I suspect we are lacking in our Christian culture is the confident walking in that righteousness.  When we walk in full knowledge of the gift we have received then nothing should seemingly stop us in our pursuit to please our heavenly Father.  Walking confidently in the knowledge that we have been made right in God's eyes does not give us an excuse to stay dirty, but instead gives us a life and death incentive to do exactly what He says.