Living Under Grace

Thou shall not…

Before I became a Jesus follower, I thought being a Christian meant not being allowed to have freedom. I thought it meant there would be a long list of all the things one could not do. I thought it meant I would be living a life where I was continually being condemned and judged for how I never measured up.

Not measuring up was a theme in my life. “Just didn’t quite make it.” Striving but falling terribly. Conflict with family. Conflict in marriage. Conflict with friends.

Just not good enough.

The idea of becoming a Christian and having God jump on my “you’re not good enough” parade was not appealing for me.

I began reading the Bible starting in the Old Testament. There were “rules” and commandments, but I kept reading. The more I read the more I wanted to read. Then God made it clear to me that He loved me, that He didn’t want me to live a life under condemnation. Once I made my way to the New Testament, I found grace, I found Jesus. 

It’s so easy to condemn ourselves and live as though we don’t have freedom. Thou shall not [you fill it in]. Thou shall not [you fill in that struggle which seems to come back over and over]. Thou shall not [you fill in that thought which haunts you].

That’s not how God wants us to live. He wants us to live under grace, under freedom.

But what does it mean to truly live under grace?

I found the answer in Jesus’ words…

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

-Mark 12:28-31

God does not condemn us. God loves us. God loves me. God loves you. He wants us to love Him back and live under the freedom of forgiveness, under the freedom of grace. Living under grace is walking in freedom, walking in love.

We love others but we also love ourselves. “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Be good to yourself. I’ve learned to say, “It’s okay.” It’s okay if I don’t feel like I measure up. It’s okay if I make a mistake. It’s okay if I stumble. It’s okay if I blow it, again. It’s okay if I totally wipe out. It’s okay if I feel sad. It’s okay if I don’t feel like getting up in the morning. It’s okay if I feel like I feel. It’s okay if I laugh. It’s okay to be happy. It’s okay to be okay even when I don’t feel okay. It’s okay to be okay even when someone around me isn’t okay. It’s okay to be me.

It’s okay to be you.

God wants you to live under the freedom of grace and love.

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