Putting the spring back into my step
I was sitting this morning pondering how to walk the Christian life in a way that ‘puts the spring back into your step.’ I meet so many Christians who seem to find their Christian walk more of a burden than a joy. Now, no one would admit to that if asked, not even me, but I think that if we are brutally honest, it’s the truth. So what is the reason for this sad state of affairs? I think that the answer lies in the way we see ourselves in our relationship with God. We think that we have to perform, to jump through the hoops to get God’s attention and continued approval. So, we try hard to do all the right things, but we do them with the wrong attitude and for the wrong reason. We read the beatitudes and see that we are falling short, so we try harder to meet their demands. The harder we try the more we fail. We get guilt ridden and our life takes on a ‘grin and bear it posture.
Most of us think that we are not as foolish as the Galatian believers who ‘After beginning with the Spirit, were trying to attain their goal by human effort’ (Gal. 3:3). We quote convincingly the Scriptures that affirm that we are no longer under the Law but under grace, but we struggle to live it. We are not celebrating the freedom we have in Christ by the way we live. Gal 5:1 tells us that ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.’ But that is exactly what happens. Without realizing it we default back to relating to God as a slave does to a master from whom we hope to gain favours and acceptance.
But what does the Scripture say about living the Christian life? What caught my attention and got me thinking this morning was Romans 8 and verse 15, where Paul says to the Roman believers, who were living the Christian life as if they were sucking lemons, ‘For you did not receive the spirit that makes us a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry “Abba Father.” Suddenly I hear God say to me, not in and audible voice, but I knew it was Him, that we still relate to Him as a slave which is always associated with the fear of failure. This Scripture tells us that we have received the ‘Spirit of Sonship.’ And He is our Father. I do not need to prove anything to Him. All that is require is for me to live out of the life source He has already put in me. My encouragement to you is to accept that ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free...’ and ‘do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery.’ Enjoy your freedom, celebrate your freedom and stop trying to earn points by jumping through the hoops.
