Day 4


 Living Free Under the Influence of the Law


Romans 6:14 "For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace."

She stood at her desk, fists trembling at her side, the heat of her anger rising like an erupting volcano she could no longer restrain. Every day she faces impossible expectations, standards no one can meet. And they act as if her failure says something about her character. The anger burned in her chest with endless striving, constantly falling short, no matter how hard she pushed herself the finish line always seemed to be one step beyond her reach.

Sometimes we throw our hands up when we can’t live up to someone else’s expectations. We strive to measure up but sometimes there are rules we will never be able to meet.

This is the experience of many Christians. We perceive Christianity as a list of do's and don'ts. The more we try to do what we are supposed to do the more we fall short. And the more we work to avoid what we aren't supposed to do, somehow that never solves the feelings of self-condemnation.  

The law of God gave guidance for thousands of years with 613 laws that were to be followed. The law was perfect and perceived as reviving (Psalm 19), but the purpose of the law was to show us our sin (Romans 3:20). So, when those expectations frame our Christian experience, we want to throw up our hands and quit.

When this is our version of Christianity, the law remains the primary influence over the decisions we make and the emotions we feel. We create to-do lists to become the model Christian. We work to meet our version of those expectations. But the more we work, the more we feel self-reliant on the good days and self-condemnation on the bad. Christianity becomes all about us.

Grace solves the problem from the law’s influence on our decisions and emotions. We stand in freedom doing good works as a response to the love of Christ on our lives (Ephesians 2:10). Our eyes open to the radiant beauty of the law of God when Christ took the burden we bear on Himself to do what we could never do. He nailed every obligation we bear to the cross so we can live with hands raised up in freedom to enjoy Him (Colossians 2:14). The law's influence will always bow to the transformational power of grace. 

Today, live free from the obligation to do the right things or not do the wrong things. May we live free in our standing with God based on His favor and not our performance. May our exasperation and self-condemnation cease under the law of grace that perfectly fulfills every expectation from the beautiful law of God. Enjoy today as a Christian knowing that you are fully known and deeply loved. 

 Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me freedom from feeling like I have to do the right things all the time to please you. Lord, the funny thing is I have never had as much desire in my life to do the right things now that I know that I can’t do them without your help. May I enjoy today knowing you still love me on my worst day. My deepest desire is to do what you call me to do today out of deep gratitude for showing me your grace. Amen.

Click this link to find out more about the influence of grace from my new book "Living Under the Influence: How Grace Sets Us Free from the Performance Mindset." Click this link to visit my author's website.

  






  




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