This post is more poetic than what I usually write, but I was reflecting on some differences between who I am and who God is, and how that distinction truly leads to… freedom. Hope it encourages you:
I am sinful, but You clothe me in Your perfection.
My sin goes far, but Your grace, love, and forgiveness go farther still.
I am weary from trying, but You give me rest by working for me.
I have nothing, but You give me a reason to be content.
I go through pain, but You give me a reason to rejoice always.
I am subject to circumstance, but Your love for me is not.
I am wavering and inconsistent, yet Your faithfulness is unconditional.
My word is cheapened by my selfishness, but Your Word is heightened by selflessness.
I am stubborn in relational conflict, but You bore hostility and offer unmerited peace.
My hands and feet are stained with sin, but Your hands and feet were pierced in my place.
I love riches, status, and comfort more than others, but You gave them all up to lovingly save me–teaching me what is truly valuable all along.
I am dominated by greed, but I am freed from it by being the recipient of Your unmerited generosity.
I easily hold on to grudges and bitterness, but You forgave me.
I dwell on how others have wronged me, but You have forgiven and forgotten my sin, keeping no record of it.
I try to justify my actions, but You have justified me by Your perfection.
I groundlessly try to defend myself, but You now stand in my place in defense.
I am obsessed with reciprocity of love, but Your love is unconditional for me.
I am not confident in my abilities, but You give me Your Spirit.
I frequently doubt Your ways, but Your character remains true.
I carelessly ask of Your hand, but You instead grace me with Your face.
I constantly ask ‘why’, but You frequently remind me ‘Who’?
I am obsessed with lists and rules, but You free me from legalism with grace.
I easily look down on others, but You washed my feet.
I exaggerate my accomplishments, but You give me security.
I minimize my shortcomings, but You offer unconditional approval.
I am terribly insecure, but You are scandalously for me.
I am obsessed with my own name, but You free me to serve the greatest one, whose legacy and story will last forever.
I burn with jealousy from my idols of comparison, but You are jealous for my joy and will lovingly burn down my idols.
I am unworthy, but You clothe me in Your righteousness.
I am weak, but You are strong.
I have no credentials, but You pin on me the badges of Your accomplishments.
I have no real family, but You make me Your son through Your blood.
I was bound to the love of riches, status, and comfort, but You gave them all up up so that you could free me from them to love more important things.
INDEED:
“You bore the wrecking ball of God’s wrath, so that I could be rebuilt and not destroyed”
“You took my penalty of condemnation, so that I could stand in Your position of favor”
You died in my place, so that I could one day live in Yours.
You drank the cup of my sin, so that I could eat the fruit of life.
Your glorious hands were pierced, so that mine could be redeemed for glory.
You gave up Your rights, so that I could be made right with You.
You laid down Your life, so that mine could be raised.
Ironically, it is when we stop focusing on ourselves and our need to get better–and instead focus on Jesus’ performance–that we actually get better all along. Focusing on the person and work of Jesus is what will truly put to death sin’s vivacious influence (Colossians 3:1-5) and disentangle us from its relentlessly grappling nature (Hebrews 12:1-2).
And it is when we focus more on Him, abiding more in Him and His work, that spiritual fruit starts to sprout organically. Instead of trying to water our own infertile, Christ-dry hearts with lists and rules, the gospel fertilizes the soil of our hearts and waters it with the power of grace. In fact, it’s when we don’t even realize that we are growing that we begin to grow–for, the focus is off of us because it’s consumed with Someone more appealing than self: Jesus. In fact, proof that we are really growing is when we don’t even realize that we are, or we find that we aren’t as concerned about it as we used to be, because our affections have been steered away from inward, personal progress and have been directed to outward awe for the God who graciously first loved us–which is the fuel for real progress anyways.
This is what makes the gospel personally beautiful, powerful, and impeccable.
