Sunday, October 09, 2011

Devotions for the Rest of Us #11

I've recently had several occasions to consider what our freedom in Christ means. It amazes me how so many of us can become entrapped in what we think we must do and what we think is wrong. I suspect you can build a case for most anything with scripture, because we seem to do it on a regular basis. We trap each other, then judge each other, forgetting our own entanglements.

Our son and his wife have a puppy that frequently gets to come over and play here. They live in an apartment and Roman must be on a leash there. It's amazing to watch him when he comes here, there are three acres that he can run over, and as long as he responds to our calls, he gets to run free. He starts very hesitant, but then as he realizes that he can go, he bounds off, smelling the trees, the grass, and follows our dogs everywhere.

Is that how we are? When we are first brought into the kingdom, we first often see ourselves as being in this place of "you can't do this, you can't do that." We often fail to see it's not what we can't do, but what we can.

The old desires fall away. We aren't bound by things, we change our desires. So if you choose to show your faith in a certain way, by your dress, by your stickers on your car, it's fine. But am I less of a believer if I don't? I think not, I think that we are all on this journey, and the paths may vary, but He leads us all the way.

What I see is that where I am weak, will you come beside me? Where I am strong, I'll be beside you. Not to judge you, but to lift you up, to encourage you. And because some things are easy for you and not for me, be understanding. Math is a huge struggle, but history comes alive for me. For you, some things are easy to see, for me not. Neither of us is wrong, but He made us all different. Yet images of Him.

And where I want to live is at the foot of the cross. Because there we are all the same.

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