Our own greatest relationship problem is ourselves. We’ve all been sinned against and suffered abuse of all different kinds. But our deepest and greatest difficulty exist inside of us. Grace alone changes everything Grace liberates us from all the brokenness and bitterness inside us so we can actually have a relationship.
Grace does three things.
(1) It frees us from the bondage of our own self-righteousness. We can’t have a relationship based on our own righteousness, it’s doomed to failure. But when we accept Jesus Christ in our lives, Through Him we can stand before God as righteous. So we are free to own up to our lives as being a mess, and not be defensive about it because of God’s Grace.
(2) When we embrace Christ’s righteousness as our own we are free from having to be in control of everything. Jesus said in Luke 12:32 “fear not, little flock, for it’s your Father’s great pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” We don’t have to build a kingdom, it’s already done. Through Grace we’ve been given more than we could ever want in God’s Kingdom. So quit arguing and just accept it.
(3) Christ’s righteousness frees us from the bondage of unrealistic expectations. So stop seeking the approval of man and his earthly expectations. Stop asking people in your life to be your own personal messiahs, who will make you feel good about yourselves. We’ve already been given everything we need for life. Through Grace we can live life in Abundance and walk in the light of all Jesus has done to free us from ourselves.
Ronnie Jones
When I lived in Bulgaria in the 1990’s, I met Pastor Hristo Kulichev, a pastor in Bulgaria, who was arrested and put in prison in 1985. His crime was that he preached in his church even though the state had appointed another man the pastor whom the congregation did not elect. His trial was a mockery of justice. And he was sentenced to eight months imprisonment. During his time in prison he made Christ known every way he could. When he got out he wrote, “Both prisoners and jailers asked many questions, and it turned out that we had a more fruitful ministry there than we could have expected in church. God was better served by our presence in prison than if we had been free.” And although I never met them, I was inspired by the stories of Richard Wurmbrand and Haralan Popov who wrote about their experiences of being imprisoned and tortured for many years under the Communist regime.
While imprisoned and awaiting execution, Paul wrote to Timothy, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). “All” is not a throwaway word in this verse. Paul means it. Everyone who publicly lives as a committed Christian will face some kind of resistance from the world. This verse ought to recalibrate our expectations. We should be surprised when we don’t face persecution, not when we do, because God’s word promises us that at times we will. That doesn’t make experiencing opposition easier any more than knowing your due date makes giving birth less painful. But at least you can be prepared. Increased persecution is likely to be a part of our future here in the USA. How will your respond? Will you respond with fear or isolation from the hostile world? Will you become a silent believer? Or will you be a faithful witness in the face of threats, intimidation, rejection and other persecution?