And, I don’t know why, but there is a big part of me today
that still struggles with guilt. I would
say that nine times out of ten, I am more motivated by guilt than grace.
Kind of a sad commentary on how much I don’t get about God’s love for me. Furthermore, I am convinced that what God
wants most for me is to have me be set perfectly free in his love. There’s a verse that I love which reminds me
of how things are supposed to be.
I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart
free. (Psalm 119:32)
Isn’t that a beautiful thought? Not laboriously walking, or striving, or even
jogging. No, this verse talks about a
full-throttled run. Running in the path
of his commands. That idea intrigues
me. That verse makes me want to shout
for joy. No more guilt, only grace. So how do I get there?
Well, God’s Spirit alone can move me to understand and actively
believe in this kind of love. This was
Paul’s prayer for the believers at Ephesus:
I pray to the Father, the
Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you
mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.
And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as
you trust in him. May your roots go down
deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love really is. (Ephesians 3:14-18 NLT)
I LOVE this verse – LOVE it.
It’s one I think of often when I’m praying for myself or others. After all, who doesn’t want that? Who doesn’t want to understand how great God’s
love is for them. Well, I can think of
one shall we call him “being” who fights like heck to make sure we don’t let
our roots sink down and rest in the love of Christ. Yup, you got it. Our old friend, the Devil.
I have a little story to share that might make things a
little more clear. Today, I dug up some
day lilies, because I wanted to transplant them in our back yard. After I finished this morning they were all
nice and perky looking - as good as they looked in our front garden. But at this moment, I’m staring out the
window and noticing - those flowers aren’t looking too hot. Yup, my pretty little day lilies are wilting
away in the scorching sun. Granted, I
have yet to water them so that may be part of the problem, and I suppose in a
little while, I will need to go out and do just that. But as I type this, I envision those plants,
how I want them to look, and I know that what I want most for them is to
thrive. Not just survive or even live, but
to thrive. And I think that’s what God wants for us. Not just to survive, not even just to live,
but to thrive. In Jesus own words, “that
we may have life and have it to the full”. (John 10:10b)
Okay, I promise I’m gonna
tie this up into a neat little package before I’m done, so here are some final
thoughts; Maybe guilt is the only way to
get me going in the right direction. But
if guilt is my only motivator, then I’m probably going to struggle through life
just trying to survive. But, if, by God’s
Spirit, I begin to get it, to really get how great God’s love is for me, to let
my roots grow down deep into the “soil of God’s marvelous love,” then I don’t think
it will be guilt that motivates me anymore but, rather, grace. Enough grace to set me free. Enough grace to set me free to “run in the
path of God’s Commands.” A grace, a love
that leads me to live a free life, a full life.
And unlike my poor wilted lilies, a grace that allows me to thrive in the
midst of whatever comes my way.
What about you? Don’t
you think that God wants this for all of us?
By God’s Spirit, learn to do more than survive, or even just to live. Let your roots go down deep into the soil of
God’s marvelous love and start thriving!
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