Unburdened: Living in the Freedom of Grace

 Where Grace is the Boss

Living in the freedom of grace is not a far-fetched idea. It's what we are called into. But, is that what we are doing on a day to day basis? Read on to find out if you have been living in liberty, or as a slave.

Understand Grace

Hey, so we've all heard that we're saved by grace, right? It's like the coolest thing ever, but sometimes it feels like we're just nodding along at Sunday school instead of actually living it. We roll up to Jesus tired out and lugging all our junk, and He's like, "Come on, let me take that load off," and gives us this sweet gift of rest. But then we're out here trying to pay Him back with gold stars for every good deed. But all those points are total rubbish to him. He doesn't care if we are going out of our way to "please" him or not, he only cares for the work He did for us! It's like we're back in kindergarten or something.

Grace isn't just the VIP pass to get into heaven—it's supposed to be the whole party vibe of our lives. It doesn't stop at salvation and leave us stranded. It is the very bread and butter of our lives, we embrace it and live victoriously. But what happens? We get all serious again and start slapping ourselves with rules that aren't even in the playbook Jesus gave us. We're talking about stuff we think we gotta do to keep God happy, like praying with the right words, serving in the exact right ways, and being all holy on the outside. It's like we're trying to win a prize that's already ours.

Absurd!

Now, let's not forget that pitfall of thinking we gotta keep our salvation on a tight leash with all our hard work. We start acting like we're in some kind of divine competition, making up rules that aren't even in the Bible, but we treat them like they're God's own to-do list for us. Maybe, we are so used to abiding by rules that we can't live without them. It's like we're trying to be superheroes when really, Jesus already played that part.

Let's take a page from Paul's book in Galatians:

"Are you really that clueless? After starting with God's Spirit, are you now ending with your own human effort?" (Galatians 3:3, GW)

Our human efforts don't play any part in making God more into us. Isaiah intimated that ALL our righteousness(they are many) are like used sanitary towels. they are good for nothing, except to be thrown into the pit. The only thing that does it is the free gift of righteousness, which is received by grace.

Grace is like the ultimate wingman—

it doesn't just get us in the door, it keeps us grooving on the dance floor without falling over. In fact, grace pulls all the stops and moves, while we enjoy the show. If God ever wanted to be impressed, He already impressed Himself when He gave up His only son to be killed on a wooden cross. That was His greatest show of love. there's nothing we can do to outbid that act. So let's drop the act and stop trying to impress God. He loves us already.

Now, some of this heavy stuff we're carrying around is like hand-me-downs from the religious thrift store. We get told that we still gotta play by Moses' rulebook, with all those old laws about what we can and can't do. But Jesus was like, "Nah, I got a better deal for you. Believe that I exchanged all your sins; past, present and future, and gave you my own right standing with God. 

I played by Moses' rules to the letter, but I still received punishment for those rules you couldn't play by yesteryear, today, and forever. After doing that, I pinned those rules and their legal demands on the cross with my own stamp that said, "Paid in full". Now you don't have to keep on trying to re-invent the wheel, by following them. By me they became obsolete. outdated."

So why are we still lugging around those ancient chains?

But how do we actually live like we're free and loving this grace thing?

Chill with Jesus' Finished Stuff – We don't have to run the extra mile here. What He did on the cross is more than enough for us to be in with God. We're not on a never-ending tryout for His love. You're not inn some kind of probation, if not, recruitment for heaven. In fact, Christ has already made us sit in the heavenly places with him. you may not see it with your naked eyes, but that's where God already sees us.

Say No to Legalism 

– If something makes it sound like we gotta add to what Jesus did to be cool with God, it's fake news. The ones that seem to suggest that you may have lost a place in the book of life.

 Who told you that there's a big filling department in heaven, and the angels are always writing names and deleting? Who lied to you that there are angel reporters following you everywhere, and writing back to heaven? Who lied to you that God blesses according to how good you have behaved? 

He has already blessed you with ALL spiritual blessings, and there's nothing left for you to work for. But legalists will always tell you that there's something left for you to do. Legalism is like a friendship bracelet that's actually handcuffs.

Do Stuff Because You're Loved, Not to Get Loved . 

There's nothing you can do to earn God's love. He already loved you when you were a sinner. Giving in church can't make Him love you some more. Nor can carrying the pastor's stuff to the pulpit every Sunday, or even helping the poor. We read the Bible, pray, and help out because we're already part of God's squad. It flows from the new nature that god gave us when we believed. It's not about brownie points.

Follow the Spirit's Lead. 

Christ left us the Holy Spirit to be our guide and helper. If only you can stop trying hard, and let the Spirit, who is the most natural thing for a believer, to do his thing. Ditch the rulebook and let the Holy Ghost be your GPS. He'll steer you right without the pressure of keeping all those man-made laws. 

Be Friends with God, Not Frightened of Him

 – Knowing God is about chilling with Him, not being scared of messing up. His grace is the warm blanket we snuggle in, not the stick that keeps us in line.

This is exactly what John is saying when he writes that perfect love drives away fear. Instead of trying very hard to be perfect in your behaviors, understand the word of God, and be perfected in His love, Know how greatly He loves you and rest in that love. God is not a Mafioso. Don't run away if you feel like you've messed up. Instead, run closer to him. After all, He's the only one who can make a better you, not yourself.

So let's ditch the fake freedom for the real deal. Jesus didn't just set us free so we could build new cages for ourselves. He wants us to kick back, let His love run the show, and enjoy the ride. So let's get into that groove, my friends, and live like grace is our jam.

The Secret to a Life Brimming with Grace

 

Here are a a few secrets I have discovered for living a life filled with and dictated by grace. Your life will never be the same after discovering the full meaning of grace that God has bestowed on us. 

Ever feel like you're lugging around a heavy backpack that's full of everyone's expectations, your own let-downs, and the never-ending quest to be good enough? That's a pretty common experience for a lot of folks. But the good news is, there's another way to live, a way that's been laid out for us in the gospel—a way of grace, freedom, and being fully accepted in Christ.

Sealed by Grace

When the Bible says we're sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), it's not talking about some temporary fix. This is the real deal, a sign that says we're God's and nobody else's. It's a promise that no matter what we do, He's got us.

What does this sealing really mean for our day-to-day lives?

• We're part of the family. Our status with God isn't based on performance; we're His because we're in Christ.
• We're unshakeable. Nothing can tear us away from God's love—not our mistakes, not other people, not even ourselves (Romans 8:38-39).
• We've got divine help. The Holy Spirit is like our inner renovator, transforming us from the inside, making us more like Jesus.

Embracing the Freedom of a Life Steeped in Grace

You might know about grace, but are you really living it out? Sometimes we keep pushing ourselves like we're back in the schoolyard trying to climb the moral ladder, when actually, we've been given a free pass to the top. As if we can really take ourselves there. 

Remember, that Christ was crucified because we could not bring ourselves to God. If there was a single chance, however remote, that we could behave into a right standing with God, then Jesus would not have had to die. 

The way to God is not some ladder that we can climb on our own; Christ is the only way, and we need to learn to rest in his finished work. To us it means freedom. Here's how to start living in the true freedom that comes from grace:

Rest in His Finished Work

   When Jesus said, "It is finished," on the cross, He meant it (John 19:30). He had already done all that was required for our justification, redemption and even our being transformed to his own image. 

Mark you this, he didn't leave anything behind that we need to do. His work is completely complete. We can stop trying to add to what He's done and just bask in the joy of knowing we're saved. 

If ever there was something that Christ left undone, know that you can't complete it. If I can't lift a rock, my kindergarten daughter can't lift it too. 

But Christ did what we could not do. Not only that, he died for our mistakes, past, present and future. He bridged the gap between us and God. What else do we need to do?

Ditch the Performance-Based Acceptance Myth

   It's easy to get caught up in thinking we have to earn God's love. But the truth is, we're loved because of Jesus, not our to-do lists (Titus 3:5).

Here's the thing: If God were to show love to us based on our conduct, He'd end up hating us with a passion. But he loved us even when we were sinners. Even when there was nothing good to be said about us, He came to look for us. Not only did he look for us, he gave up his only son so that we might be his children too.

Friends, we are not working to be accepted by God. No. It is God who is extending His love to us, and we need only to accept it and live in it. Let us swim in the love that God, our father has lavished on us.

Let Grace Fuel Your Actions

   Instead of doing good to get right with God, start from a place of being right with God and watch the goodness spill out. We have already been made right with God through Christ Jesus. 

Because we are right with God, we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings. There's nothing we can do to add to those blessings. As I have said, He poured ALL His blessings into us the moment we believed. 

You can't be more blessed by giving in church, tithing faithfully, helping the poor, preaching more..... None of those impresses Him. In fact, there's nothing you can do to move God. He moved Himself when He let his son be humiliated and die on a cross.

So, our actions are not fueled by a need to earn God's nod. It is the opposite: we nodding to what He has already done. It's not about us trying to make God react to our actions. It's about living from what God has placed inside us, reacting to the gift of righteousness(2 Corinthians 5:21).

 It's about living from what He's given us, not trying to impress Him 

Follow the Spirit's Lead, Not Your Fleshly Whims

   Being free in Christ doesn't mean going wild. Some people wrongly think that grace is a license to sin. But that can't be further from the truth. Grace is actually the power that enables us to live above sin. 

Before a right standing with God was revealed through Christ, we used to live a life of strife. We tried our best to at least keep the 10 commandments, but we were unable. This was mainly because we didn't have the Holy Spirit in us, and that we were sinners by nature. We were like a scorpion that can't help stinging, even when it shouldn't.

But now God has given us a new nature. one of righteousness. We are new creatures, created in the image of His son. On top of that, we also have the Holy Spirit, who silently leads us to do what is right. We don't struggle t follow a to-do-list. Whatever is nobble, right and praiseworthy has already been carved out in our very being.

So it's not about trying to live by 630+ rules; we have no chance there. In fact, my Bible records that the power of sin is the law. It's about living out who we are from the inside. If only you knew who you are from within, you'd stop trying to become.

 It's about saying yes to the Holy Spirit's gentle nudges and finding joy in doing what's right out of love, not fear (Galatians 5:16-18).

Be a Grace Giver

   Once you've tasted God's grace, you'll want to share it. You can't afford to keep quiet with all this sweetness. Once you know how much forgiven you are, how much loved you are, how much valued you are.

A child who knows how much their father loves them will always want to display their father, parade him in front of their peers. No, it's not an obligation, but just an action from a feeling that can not be held back. 

Am saying this because my daughter loves to show me to her friends, telling them how good I am, how I lavish her with good things, how much we are in love.....

As a result, my daughter treats her peers with the same love, care and tenderness. As her father is, as she has known him to be, so is she. And this is also true to us. the same way we know our God to be, so shall we be. The secret here is to know God even more, coz as He is, so are we.

Before we can show grace to others, we must know the man called grace. to know the man called grace is to know ourselves. From here, we will not struggle to show grace to others. It will naturally flow from within.

The Happiness of a Life Saturated with Grace

When you're sealed and free, you're not just living a peaceful life; you're living a life that's full of joy because you know God isn't holding your past against you. He's not waiting to hit at you at the slightest mistake too. He's showering you with love and affection on account of Christ.

you can easily say like Paul, that it's no longer me who lives, but Christ through me. Everything that God is doing in my life is not because I am good, but because Christ did all the heavy lifting. I am clothed in Christ, and all that God sees is His own righteousness. He accounted all my mistakes  on Christ, long before I was born, so that now I am wearing shining robes of righteousness that can not be stained. For this, I have confidence to approach the throne of grace, having already obtained mercy.

It's a life of confidence, knowing that you're safe in Jesus' arms, ready to take on whatever comes your way. And it's a life that shines love to a world that's still wearing those heavy chains.

So, let's drop the weight we've been carrying. Let's grab hold of grace and really live. You're sealed, and you're free. Just like that.