Ever feel like every thing you do is measured by a ruler? Did I do enough? Did I measure up to the expectations? Then just when you feel you have a handle on the “laws” boxed around you, another fold of the ruler (as pictured above) is brought out and you have to begin again with more stringent rules. After a while, you wonder, “Is it worth it?“.
A few years ago, I posted a review on Lisa Whelchel’s book Friendship for Grown-Ups: What I Missed and Learned Along the Way
Lisa
talks about Law vs. Grace. Those in the Old Testament (Abraham, David, Daniel, Esther) were under the
Law or a set of specific rules. These Laws were given to show them how far they
fall from the perfection line.
Once Jesus died on the cross in the New Testament, we were no
longer bound by the Law and instead were covered by grace – which
is love from God that we don’t deserve.
In her book, Lisa further explains that she lived life as though she was still under the Law until she realized:
Not sinning isn’t the primary goal. Maybe staying close to the Father is the goal…
You see, it’s all upside down. I thought that if I didn’t sin then I would
stay close to my Father. It is the other way around! If I stay close to the Father, I’m less likely to sin.”
I love this!
Being a Christian isn’t about following a bunch of rules.
It is about spending more time with God so that we learn His ways. As
we learn more about Him, we will become more like Him and desire His ways and we will have less
desire to sin or choose our way of living!
Isn’t that great?
Christianity isn’t about following a bunch of rules. Being a Christian means that you realize you can’t do it on your own and desperately need a Savior. It’s time to put the ruler away and open our Bibles to learn about a God who deeply loves us.
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