Growing in Grace

It has been a while since my last post. There has not been much on my plate since the last post that would make me get thoughtful about my life, God or others. However, I may have just not been paying much attention since them. I say that because maybe the reality is that there has been way too much. I think that there may have been too much work, too much emotion and too much pressure to take time to put thought into my life. So I am writing this blog now as a way of getting back in touch with what I need to get in touch with and pay attention to.
I am constantly thinking about God and grace. The freedom it gives someone to live their life to the fullest. It does not mean that we have the luxury of doing "anything" we want with no thought to others. Grace does mean that we have the freedom to grow in relationship with God spiritually and emotionally. We do not have to worry about God pounding us when we make a mistake or leaving us when we think that he thinks we are not lovable. God would never think those things. His thoughts are higher than ours. Grace means that we can live with the freedom to make mistakes and keep moving forward instead of making mistakes and staying stuck in the mistaken belief that we must stop, grieve and repent over and over until we feel forgiven. I think that many people who call themselves "Christian" do this because of some need to feel righteous or that they have made enough "atonement" for their "sins" that they can be self righteous. We live in a world that believes and encourages that things are black and white, no grey. Many people believe that God must operate in the same manner. However, I do not believe that this is a reality. God knows that if he held every mistake against us, we would never be able to move forward in our lives and have a real relationship with God. God has opened every door possible to make this happen for us, we need to accept it and move forward. How would the world change if people could understand that this is how God loves them and would love others the same. This is one of the greatest commandments that Christ gave - "Love your neighbor as yourself." However, we need to love ourselves first, just as God loves us to fulfill this commandment.