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I'm lovin' it! (1)
'Do not set aside grace' Galatians 2:21
Which is easier: Earning love or being loved? Earning love is like treating God's grace as some kind of wages for the work we do for Him. So every time we pop spare change into the offering, we've earned a heavenly pat on the back. Or if we manage the Lord's Prayer before drifting off to dreamland, we get a knowing wink off God.
The problem with earning God's love is the momentum always lies with us. If we think we're performing OK, God must think we're OK. But if we let go of God, God lets go of us. Looking right, sounding right, saying the right things - eventually they all suffocate us. No one can be heavyweight spiritual champ 24/7.
Being loved is a whole easier deal. Love doesn't get the weighing scales out to measure how well we're doing. Love doesn't mark a nasty red cross next to all our efforts. Love doesn't ask us to toe the company line without thinking for ourselves. Love sets us free from all the pressures of being the president of perfection; it allows us to be who we are, warts and all. Being loved takes the emphasis off our efforts and stresses the importance of who we are - God's children. Responding to God's grace is far more freeing than trying to earn brownie points. After all it's God that cleans our act up, not us.
written by Bob Gass
'Do not set aside grace' Galatians 2:21
Which is easier: Earning love or being loved? Earning love is like treating God's grace as some kind of wages for the work we do for Him. So every time we pop spare change into the offering, we've earned a heavenly pat on the back. Or if we manage the Lord's Prayer before drifting off to dreamland, we get a knowing wink off God.
The problem with earning God's love is the momentum always lies with us. If we think we're performing OK, God must think we're OK. But if we let go of God, God lets go of us. Looking right, sounding right, saying the right things - eventually they all suffocate us. No one can be heavyweight spiritual champ 24/7.
Being loved is a whole easier deal. Love doesn't get the weighing scales out to measure how well we're doing. Love doesn't mark a nasty red cross next to all our efforts. Love doesn't ask us to toe the company line without thinking for ourselves. Love sets us free from all the pressures of being the president of perfection; it allows us to be who we are, warts and all. Being loved takes the emphasis off our efforts and stresses the importance of who we are - God's children. Responding to God's grace is far more freeing than trying to earn brownie points. After all it's God that cleans our act up, not us.
written by Bob Gass
