I'm back and I'm still obsessed with grace. Bear with me as I write about my favorite subject yet again.
The story of The Prodigal Son is such a good one. I've been blessed so many times thinking of God's unconditional forgiveness and His love and grace towards his lost son. The story is perfect in so many ways because it also tells us another story if we look at it from the perspective of the older brother. The older brother is like me and so many others. He is working hard trying to do all the things he's supposed to do. I'm sure he had a list of chores a mile long and he was proud of all his hard work. But more importantly, he thought that the better job he did of keeping his list, the prouder his father would be of him and the more he'd be loved. And he was angry with his brother for not earning any of the gifts he received from his father. But surely, he completely missed the obvious. His father already loved him unconditionally and lavishly whether he did his chores or not.
If you think about it, if it's all about a to-do list, Jesus died for nothing. He really only asks two things from us. They are that we love Him and love others. Jesus REALLY WILL take care of the other stuff. That is called GRACE. Even now, with all my head knowledge about grace, I easily revert to rule-keeping. I think, "oh, God is so disappointed in me for not doing such and such." and "If only I'd do more such and such, God will love me so much more." God doesn't want us to live a life of guilt for all our shortcomings. He wants us to stop trying harder. We can't fix our own brokenness. But we can rest in the finished work of Christ.
Have you ever seen Christians striving to be perfect and they are simply miserable? And another question just in case you think I'm endorsing "easy believism"...have you ever seen anyone who is truly trusting in Christ who lives a blatantly sinful lifestyle? Probably not.
The truth is...we can't do anything for God. He doesn't need our good works. He is GOD. Instead, He places Himself inside us and He will express Himself through us as we trust Him. Naturally, good works will flow through us as we live a life dependent on Him.
How do you guard yourself against being influenced by man-made religion and rules? Here are a few questions to ask yourself that I found in the NIV Life Application Study Bible:
1) Does your religion stress man-made rules and taboos rather than God's grace?
2) Does it foster a critical spirit toward others, or does it exercise discipline discreetly and lovingly?
3) Does it stress formulas, secret knowledge, or special visions more than the Word of God?
4) Does it elevate self-righteousness, honoring those who keep the rules, rather than elevating Christ?
We can never do enough to please Him and that's why He died for us. His grace is sufficient.
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
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