June 16, 2011
“It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use your this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love, that’s how freedom grows.” Galatians 5:13 The Message
A Christian is any man or woman who has “entered into” a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. You began that life by believing .. trusting .. accepting .. surrendering .. and receiving His crucifed-now risen life as your own. God bought you out of slavery so you could be free .. restored into the real and true life you become in His Son. We live in a “serve yourself first world”. The grace gift of freedom grows by serving others. There isn’t a layer of our everyday lives that isn’t stained by suspicion and self-protection. But Christ stepped right into your deepest and darkest secrets and served you with His life … absolutely freely! His life and love slowly and deliberately brought down all the self-imposed barriers you thought would keep you safe and in some sort of control. And the life He gives you now is free to serve others with unbelievable freedom and original design. His life restores you to the God-created original that you truly become in Christ. If you aren’t growing you probably aren’t serving others out of His abiding love. (That’s not a criticism by any sort.) There is a life-changing difference between serving others out of your own strength and serving others out of the indwelling life of Jesus. You’ve been called into an incomparable life of freedom in Christ. He is the One who redeems all things .. even your past .. into your present .. and into your hope-secured future. The real steps of freedom are those you take in serving another in love. Are you free to love or frozen by obligation? It only takes a moment …
“Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. each of us is an original.” Galatians 5:25-26 The Message
Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Freed-to-Serve Followers of Jesus and friends of Priority One (ken@priorityone.org)
