Jesus is God and I will NEVER figure Him out. That should be a liberating realization, however my arrogant nature is annoyed at that very fact. Before my baptism, I still envisioned Jesus, well God for that matter, as an unattainable being. A being way above me that I could never coexist with. After reading "The DANCE" chapter, it blew my mind how much God wants to outpour this love to us, to me. My mistake had been that I felt I knew God. In my skewed mind He was unipersonal, and that misunderstood view of Him gave me the misconception that His love could eventually end. That I would be the ONLY being in the entire world that His love would run out on. Understanding the Trinity and seeing how each part exists to glorify the other to create this dance of never-ending love, blew my mind! It is a dance that I am invited to partake in and am called to do it without ANY selfish ambition.
Then comes the CALL of Jesus. Looking back, I realized that I didn't view the Gospel as the "good news"! Its silly, I know, but up until about 6 months back I was still trying to earn my way to salvation. In my mind, the bible was just this book of rules that needed to be followed to arrive at that place of righteousness and salvation.
"The essence of other religions is advice; Christianity is essentially news. Other religions say, "This is what you have to do in order to connect to God forever; this is how you have to live in order to earn your way to God." But the gospel says, "This is what has been done in history. This is how Jesus lived and died to earn the way to God for you." Christianity is completely different. It's joyful news.
-King's Cross p.13
Now, I have stopped taking the advice to earn my way to God and am embracing the grace given to me. As a disciple of Christ understanding that HE is the good news is the foundation of my walk. Once that foundation is laid, then comes the next step of HEALING.
AAAAHHHHH, this is sooo deep! I can't handle it! J/K, I love it.
-Mar
This is what has been done in history.
ReplyDeleteYes. I like this, too. :o)
Embracing grace has been one of the hardest concepts to grasp. Grace seems like it's too good to be true. It definitely took some time for me to accept. That was probably the hardest part for me in understanding grace. For some reason, I didn't want to accept it. It was easier for me to extend it and talk to others about it, then internalize it. Last summer, I spent six months studying and praying for insight into grace. God helped me see what it is and why I need it. God's grace is amazing. I love to think about it now. His grace is what makes me want to live for him.
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