Freedom

Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. Galatians 5:1

Christ offers us freedom. Salvation is freedom. Salvation is freedom from being harnessed by any rules that say that for God to love you you must................ Paul is dicussing with them rule keeping systems, the specific one he discusses is about circumcision. Paul tells them that the moment that any of us submit to a system that is about keeping rules to be accepted is at the same moment saying that Christ's gift was squandered. I think about this often with people that I see. We are so bound up in what is right or wrong, what rule to follow, that we miss the total freedom that Christ offers. We no longer have to be cound by the guilt and shame of rules that we cannot keep. We can be free to enjoy the love and kindness from our Creator. This allows us to keep the heart of any rule. We begin to act out of love and compassion for others because we see that they have the same struggle against guilt and shame. We see them in their own prison telling themselves that they are not loved until.........................

Sometimes people get really scared of grace because they think that people will take advantage of it and say to themselves, "God loves me no matter what so I can do whatever I want." If people do say this then they do not really "know" God and the love they are given. They do not really understand this kind of grace and kindness. They are not able to be thankful for it, give it to themselves and show it to others. No, a true understanding of grace and God's love leads to a life that is free from guilt and shame that binds us into a life that serves others, is kind to others, show compassion to others, and does not engage in behaviors that would cause pain to others. When we act out of guilt and shame, out of a rule keeping system, we actually end up in a self defeating cycle. I call it "I'm a turd cycle." You see if we think we are a turd because we can't keep a rule then we act like a turd. We do not keep the rules. Then we have consequences like a turd, people do not like us, think we are a liar, do not trust us - etc. Then if we have those consequences we feel like a turd which just confirms the thoughts that we started with. The cycle goes on and on until Christ's grace and freedom enters the picture. Do not let anyone take your freedom today. Let God love you!

Namaste'