Freedom and Grace

I’m reading Galatians right now and am being reminded that there are those who still try to preach slavery despite the fact that Jesus came to bring freedom and grace.

Just like when Paul lived, I see this slavery everywhere today.  No wonder there is so much anxiety and depression in this world.  Satan comes in and even through “good things,” brings about this slavery that Paul spoke of in Galatians.

The shoulds- you should do this or that to be a good fill-in-the-blank.  The needs- you need to do this or that to be a good fill-in-the-blank.

So many of us live by this daily.

This is slavery, guys.  This is not what we have been called to.  We have been called to freedom by faith in Jesus Christ.

I then asked myself the questions- am I one of those people?  Do I, by my “rules,” preach this false gospel?

Is this the slavery that I live in and share on a daily basis that brings about so much strife?

Is my sharing of what I think is “best practice” as a mom, in my natural living, as a childbirth educator bringing freedom or slavery for myself and others?  If it is bringing slavery, then I think it is time re-think things.

If I am so focused on trying to do things a certain way that when I can’t live up to it (daily) I feel enslaved, then maybe it’s time to stop living this certain way.

I desire, desperately, to live in this freedom and grace that is all over God’s word.

I have lived in slavery for so long that I’m not even exactly sure what it feels like to live in freedom and grace, yet the tiny glimpses of it make me want more.  They make me long for this daily freedom and grace.

I’m in the process of thinking through all of the things that I feel are best and process whether or not they need to stay in my life.  Do these things bring slavery or peace?  Do they bring strife or growth?  Are they beneficial or do they just bring condemnation and anxiety?

“For freedom You’ve set me free.  And yes I am free indeed.  You rewrote my name, unshackled my shame.  You opened my eyes to see I am free!”  -Shane and Shane

Today I will choose to live in freedom and grace.