A thought on grace.

​"My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." -1 John 2:1

The saint's responsibility is to follow the Shepherd closely - to be holy. Our holiness is purely contingent on our faith in Christ and cannot be arrived at through our own works. But this does not diminish the call of Christ to pick up, and bear our cross daily. Most assuredly the weight of that cross is too much to carry, and we will all lose strength at some point. This is where we best understand the grace of our Lord - who stands eternally between us and our just punishment. He bore His cross once, for all, and makes us holy by His own blood. So be holy, just as He is holy. He will equip us with the required endurance. And should we falter along the way, He lifts our heads into eternity.