“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!”
Romans 6:15
Most of us grew up in a faith tradition where good behavior is what we were told pleased God most. We were very clearly given parameters for what was sinful and was told that when we acted outside of them that God turned away from us and we should expect wrath and hellfire. That line of thinking led to most of us falling away, and when we came back we didn’t know how to interact with law. We kept acknowledging that God gives grace but behaving as though we were attempting to avoid judgment, only to fall back into sin because we could not maintain a perfect posture.
Ed mentioned a couple of weeks ago that grace is opposed to earning not effort. It’s okay to want to be good! We love God through our behavior by availing ourselves to all he has offered, including the mind of Christ, trusting that as we follow Jesus, anything that is not with us will naturally break off and fall away. Today we open our love-hate relationship with the law and ask for God’s grace to keep us open to following Jesus.
Reflection
Where have you fallen into using your behavior to try to earn love/approval/blessing from God?
How can you trust Jesus for where you fall short and love Him through what you get right?
Prayer
Lord, you know that I do my best to be good but that is often not enough. Forgive my desire to earn your love and my salvation as though there is anything I could do to earn either. I ask that you would give me grace as I continue to trust Jesus, knowing that as I follow Him, anything that won’t go where he leads will naturally break off and fall away. Thank you for continuously making me look more like your Son. Amen
