A comment made yesterday will not leave me alone.
What was it?
A response immediately came to mind, but Papa did not want it to be shared.
Well, His ways are not my ways and I have learned that His ways are much better than mine, so I heeded His restraint.
I have permission to share here though. :)
To me following my precious Savior, Jesus Christ has brought me into such a broad place. A place where we can explore together and even do a little dancing.
You would be hard pressed to do either on a tightrope.
In all thirty-four years of our love affair I have never felt as if I were on a tightrope.
Sure there have been plenty of times when I had to surrender one behavior or attitude or another and even when my flesh wasn't happy and resisted. Yet I still had the sense of my God's love and this gave me the assurance that He meant it all for good. I also knew that He wasn't waiting for me to fall or fail so He could punish me.
My God would not make me walk anything so narrow and precarious as that tightrope.
At least not alone.
Truly He doesn't have a child of His walk anywhere alone.
He goes with each one of us.
So if, at any time, He placed us on such a thing, He would be right there with us, as our safety net.
And we would not be afraid because...
We are on a glorious adventure with Jesus.
One that unfolds one step at a time.
One that is designed for our success.
When we encounter Jesus and begin our intimate relationship with Him, we are not handed a set of rules that must be adhered to every moment of the day at all costs.
That is not what a relationship is about and that is not what grace is all about!
Relationships develop with time and attention, as we get to know one another.
As a relationship grows we learn more about each other's likes and dislikes and we seek to please one another. Not out of fear, but out of love.
If we need to be overly concerned about adhering to the rules, then our attention must be fixed on them. That is not where our attention should be.
He is worthy of all our attention and love.
When we focus on our beautiful Savior, then He works through us and produces in us the life that rules never could.
Remember the Law only demands obedience without offering any power to do so, but grace gives free pardon for sin and the power to obey.
"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come." 2 Corinthians 5:17
So if you happen to find me on a tightrope, you can be sure that Jesus is teaching me some fancy footwork.
What was it?
"Following Christ seems like such a tightrope walk and the rope is fishing wire."It was spoken by the leader of a class that I am taking.
A response immediately came to mind, but Papa did not want it to be shared.
Well, His ways are not my ways and I have learned that His ways are much better than mine, so I heeded His restraint.
I have permission to share here though. :)
To me following my precious Savior, Jesus Christ has brought me into such a broad place. A place where we can explore together and even do a little dancing.
You would be hard pressed to do either on a tightrope.
In all thirty-four years of our love affair I have never felt as if I were on a tightrope.
Sure there have been plenty of times when I had to surrender one behavior or attitude or another and even when my flesh wasn't happy and resisted. Yet I still had the sense of my God's love and this gave me the assurance that He meant it all for good. I also knew that He wasn't waiting for me to fall or fail so He could punish me.
My God would not make me walk anything so narrow and precarious as that tightrope.
At least not alone.
Truly He doesn't have a child of His walk anywhere alone.
He goes with each one of us.
So if, at any time, He placed us on such a thing, He would be right there with us, as our safety net.
And we would not be afraid because...
" There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love." 1 John 4:18
We are on a glorious adventure with Jesus.
One that unfolds one step at a time.
One that is designed for our success.
When we encounter Jesus and begin our intimate relationship with Him, we are not handed a set of rules that must be adhered to every moment of the day at all costs.
That is not what a relationship is about and that is not what grace is all about!
Relationships develop with time and attention, as we get to know one another.
As a relationship grows we learn more about each other's likes and dislikes and we seek to please one another. Not out of fear, but out of love.
If we need to be overly concerned about adhering to the rules, then our attention must be fixed on them. That is not where our attention should be.
He is worthy of all our attention and love.
When we focus on our beautiful Savior, then He works through us and produces in us the life that rules never could.
Remember the Law only demands obedience without offering any power to do so, but grace gives free pardon for sin and the power to obey.
"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come." 2 Corinthians 5:17
So if you happen to find me on a tightrope, you can be sure that Jesus is teaching me some fancy footwork.
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