Unforced part 5
I started this Rant series with the line: Don't stress about rest. And that's where I want to end it. Because if we're stressing, we're not resting. If we're trying to do it ourselves then we don't believe that it is finished. You can't force the rhythms of grace. You can't live up to the impossibly high standards of the Law of Moses. You can't take the Kingdom by force. And you aren't expected to. Jesus did it all so we could get it all. The "all" that He did was the cross. And the "all" that we got... is Him. His life in us and through us and as us. So remember this: Rest is our abode. It's our home. It's the Promised Land. It's where we live. We live in Him because He lives in us. We live in LOVE because love lives in us. So if rest is where we are, rather than what we do, all we have to "do" is be who we are. Be where we are. We've been equipped and empowered to know and believe the love of God. To receive it and release it. To let it overflow out of us naturally. I think my next Rant series, starting tomorrow, is going to be "human nature." Because we excuse a lot of deplorable behavior by writing it off as human nature. But the truth of the matter is... we have a new nature. Not a beast nature that tries to selfishly get whatever it can for itself... that tries to earn it's bread by the sweat of its brow... but a love nature that is more interested in GIVING than GETTING. But that's for tomorrow. To finish up this series... I just want to say works don't work. Trying to force yourself to be someone you're not will only end in failure and frustration. Why do you think people leave churches? And I realize there are a LOT of reasons that happens, but I'm convinced one of the biggest ones is all of the religious hoops we expect people to jump through in order to be accepted. The Father accepts us because of who we are (HIS), not because of what we do. And this acceptance is what helps us BE who we are, without fear of condemnation. People will hide things if they think they will be persecuted for them. They'll point fingers at others, trying to get the heat off of themselves. That's why "sin hunts" are so prevalent in some churches. But God forgave our sins. And took them away. And forgot about them. He doesn't expect us to earn anything from Him. Everything He has for us is an inheritance passed down from Father to Son. It is freely given. It can't be earned. It can only be received. And we receive it... we learn how to live this life (or rather, let Jesus live HIS life in and through and as us) simply by spending time with Him. It's not about religion, or rules. It's about relationship. It's not about forcing it. It's about letting it happen naturally. It's not about changing. It's about understanding the change that took place on the cross. It's about seeing through the eyes of grace, as the light of the world shines and reveals things as they truly are. It's about the unforced rhythms of grace allowing us to LEARN how to rest and how to truly live!