Burdened to Liberated
My beliefs about Christianity and politics have changed a lot in the past five years. The change was slow and subtle, but all those subtle changes added up to big changes, ultimately. I have concluded that I lived most of my life not understanding the simplicity and freedom of the gospel. Being a Christian should feel like freedom, not bondage. As my husband reminded me this morning, "If we define being a Christian as anything outside of trusting in Christ's work alone for salvation, we are adding to the gospel." Being pure is not Christianity. Following rules is not Christianity. Self-control and practicing a series of spiritual disciplines is not Christianity. Voting a certain way is not Christianity. If we define ourselves by any form of effort or practice, we are adding burden to ourselves that Christ did not add. "His yoke is easy and His burden is light."
Jeff chose my firstborn Romo's middle name to be "Assurance". I love Jeff's story for that (for another time - feel free to ask him about it). But I chose our second born son Witten's middle name to be "Acceptance", because it encapsulates much of my recent faith journey.
Acceptance is something I now realize I fought and worked so hard to gain most of my life, all the while not realizing that I already had it. If you have placed your faith in Christ's finished work on the cross, you forever and always have acceptance and favor from God. It is not contingent on you at all. It is ONLY contingent on Christ. That is the freedom. We don't have to work or strive or try to keep God's acceptance or favor. We already have it. Through Christ, we can approach God anytime, always, no matter what. Works accomplish nothing spiritually. Purity accomplishes nothing spiritually. We are incapable of cleaning ourselves up. The commands in the Bible aren't a prescription for how to make God happy or pleased with us, like I used to believe. The law in the Bible only serves to remind us that we cannot do it or keep it. It reminds us that we need Christ. We can't "be good". We will always fail to "be good". Only Christ is perfect. The only factor in whether I am accepted by God is whether I have put my trust in Christ's work on the cross. That. Is. It.
So where does that leave me, if I can't "do" anything, good or bad, to change my standing before God? It leaves me resting. I can rest in Christ's work alone, and stop worrying about my own. I can rest in God's favor and love. I can rest.
Tags:
Heart-to-Heart
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