Thursday, January 22, 2015

The Freedom of Knowing You're Accepted...

 "Be Still & Know that I am God
Be Still & Know I am
Be Still & Know
Be Still
Just
Be"
~Shared in a sermon by Jason Upton
 
  On my wall I have a self made poster of all the things the Bible says I am in Christ.  Things like, "I am chosen and appointed by Jesus to bear his fruit (John 15:16)" and "I am a part of a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession to proclaim his excellencies (1 Peter 2:9-10)".  I guess I put this on my wall because I have a tendency to forget it.
 This world has a way of drawling me into it's never ending race to "be someone" or "make a name for myself".  While I know in my heart I was made for something much more than this, at times the bright lights of earthly significance call to me, and I go running after it thinking that if I just "get there" I will finally be accepted.  The thing is....there is no THERE...and I am already accepted!
  As I mentioned in my last post, my friend and I are doing a bible study together concerning God's one way love towards us.  I don't know why I picked this study for us to do but obviously it was more of a "God thing", considering of the 100's of studies available to choose from, this is the one that caught my eye and it seems to be filled with all these things I need to hear and be reminded of at the beginning of this new year!
  This week while studying I just kept coming back to the place of recognizing that the "burden" of Christ is light because in Him there is no more need to strive and fight for our respect, acceptance and even love.  When we come to Him and stand firm in who HE says we are, instead of trying to find that definition of self in the world, then live out of that GOD DEFINITION, we are able to love freely, forgive quickly, give grace unconditionally to everyone else around us.
  When we recognize and live out of the truth that everything we need has already been given to us in Christ Jesus, then we no longer have to try and force others to fill in those gaps for us.  We don't have to try and get people to like us, we don't need to work for their acceptance, we don't even have to strive to make a name for ourselves!  When we just BE in Christ, we live in freedom and joy and security, because we know we've already have it all!  What we've been running after for days, week, months, and years...is ours!  It is finished! 
  I've seen glimpses of what this looks like in my own life, over the years, and to be honest I'm sure, even though I feel like this is the "biggest glimpse" I've gotten in a while, I know there is more understanding to come.  I think this might be a part of what our relationship of God is all about....discovering who HE says we are and learning how to walk out in it.  And I think, it's in the learning to walk it out that others begin to see Christ in us, more and more.
  So this is my desire....to not just have head knowledge but also to walk out in the heart knowledge of who God says that I am.  That way I will be free to release people from my expectations of them and instead be able to love them and show them the grace of God!  Lord let your kingdom come and your will be done in my life I pray!  Amen


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