law vs. grace

most of the world operates on extremes. you're either the classic rule breaker or the stereotypical rule keeper. let's just say we have one of each at our house and the other one whose finding his way is mostly a rule breaker at this point (seeing as the 2-year old mindset is taking it's course pretty quickly).

last night luke taught on matthew 5:17-20, a scripture i've never heard a message on before... about the law versus grace. there were a few things that stood out to me and really spoke to my s that i wanted to share...

-the law (revealed throughout the old testament) revealed to people that it was impossible to keep and therefore they came to realize that they needed a Savior.

-Jesus came and NEVER disobeyed the law (EVER) & even in that he didn't become prideful. because isn't that the thing: that those of us who are rule keepers (oops, i just revealed whose who in our house;) like you didn't know already...)get caught up on who aren't following the rules to make ourselves feel better... regardless of the fact that we're sinners saved by grace. but the fact is that those who rely to much on God's grace sometimes languish in the laziness of their own desires.

The fact is this: You can't get to heaven by following the rules, but if you have no desire to follow the rules, you're probably not going to heaven. Grace is the pure beauty that sets us free from God loving us based on our own performance.

if you don't know which one you are... maybe this will bring some light---
law: your life is mainly based around discipline, commitment, and intensity
grace: more laid back and waiting on what you have to do rather than putting a plan in place.

Luke ended with a story about our Carterman. right now Carter is obsessed, I mean obsessed with Elmo. it's one of his first words in the morning and everytime he looks at our tv he points and says his name. but, we're trying really hard as parents to have a balance in how much elmo he watches; thus trying not to let a good thing go bad. In the same way we sometimes find too much satisfaction in glorying in the rules and then make excuses with our spiritual life because we are relying to heavily on God's grace.

Remember this: God's rules are grace for us... when God says don't sin, he means don't hurt yourself (James MacDonald).

As a rule follower, I'm working on a balance of grace & truth. Recognize what you are... after all balance is always better than extremes.

truth & grace,
kg:)