Grace, You are not a "bad" Christian

I've been thinking on this quite a bit lately...

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

I was "saved" when I was just a wee thing - about 4 or 5 years old, and have been sailing (trudging at times) through my faith-walk ever since. I have learned heaps and heaps about what it means to be a child of God and it seems every few years or so I hit a new and major milestone. And yet, the bizarre thing is, that when I was 4 years old, I was in the exact same spiritual position I am in now: eternally secure.

I could go on and on and tell you about my sin problem. The things I have been tempted by, given in to, and through God's strength have overcome. I could tell you of lousy circumstances and challenges I've had along the way that instead of affecting my relationship with Jesus poorly, have helped to make it stronger. I could tell you about all those weeks (sometimes months) when I didn't read my Bible, and got to thinking that perhaps the Christian life could be lived without regular nourishment from God's word. I could tell you of spiritual "break-throughs" I have encountered, such as boldness of faith, surrender of myself, and implementing daily quiet times...only to tell you that those are things I am AGAIN working towards.

I'm sure we have all heard reference to "the thief on the cross" from the crucifixion (Jesus on the Cross) story in the Bible. Here it is: “Then he (the thief) said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’”(Luke 23:42-43)

The man who was guilty and sinful hanging on his death sentence, being nailed on a cross for the wrongs he had committed, made it into heaven! Same as David (from the Old Testament) did, having followed God from a young age but messing up big time later on in life. Same as Paul (from the New Testament), who rejected Jesus and persecuted Christians before his encounter with Jesus, then later gave his life to Jesus, serving Him in a radical way. And same as me, like I touched on before: I fluctuate a bit in my "deservedness" of salvation (deliverance of sin from God). That is the way I see it anyways. But it's not the case through God's eyes. "Salvation is not partially earned and it is not partially given" (Charles Stanley).

It is certainly our human tendancy to think we must do something for a gift we receive. Especially something so big as eternal life. I'm telling you - I have a hard time not beating myself up when someone gives me a Christmas present and I haven't gotten them one (oops)! But God completely and entirely covers over my sin so that I can live with Him eternally. That is not able to be reciprocated. And I think that's the point. We aren't able to measure up to the free gift of grace God extends.

“Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” (Colossians 2:6)

Take a moment to let that verse sink in to your brain and your soul. Ask yourself, "What is God trying to say to me through this verse?" To me, I get to thinking about how the truth about Jesus can be condensed to merely a paragraph or so. We have hopefully all heard what it is we must do to be saved (“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” - Romans 10:9). And yet, if I tried to summarize all that I have learned of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, I could take up a whole book or more. Here is what I am trying to get across if it is not already clear: (If and) when you were saved, how worthy of God's forgiveness were you? It is the same now.

It may be regret from the past, fear of the future, pride issues, or struggles with insecurity that seem to prevent you from drawing near to God. Let me tell you something that hopefully will be of encouragement. You are either 100% a Christian or you are 100% not a Christian. We aided God in no way when He decided to save us and make us His own. He didn't look at you or I and think, "That sure is one exceptional, motivated, and self-disciplined individual there. I think that they deserve to be saved." No, that's not how it works. And I'm thankful it doesn't. It takes just a bit of pressure off, am I right?

I leave you with one last verse, Philippians 3:13 “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.”

No better than you,

Katie