"God hath given you one face and you make yourselves another."
-William Shakespeare-
"We discover in The Room of Grace that the almost unthinkable has happened. God has shown all of his cards. He reveals in a breathtaking protection that brings us out of hiding. In essence, God says, "What if I tell them who they are? What if I take away any element of fear in condemnation, judgment, or rejection? What if I tell them I love them, will always love them? That I love them right now, no matter what they've done, as much as I love my only Son? That there's nothing they can do to make my love go away.
"What if I tell them there are no lists? What if I tell them I don't keep a log of past offenses, of how little they pray, how often they've let me down , made promises that they don't keep ? What if I tell them they can stop beating themselves up? That they can stop being so formal, still, and jumpy around me? What if I tell men I'm crazy about them? What if I tell them, even if they run to the ends of the earth and do the most horrible, unthinkable things, that when they come back I'd receive them with tears and a party?
"What if I tell them that if I am their Savior, they're going to heaven no matter what-it's a done deal? What if I tell them they have a new nature-saints, not saved sinners who should now 'buck up and be be
tter if they were any kind of Christian, after all he's done for you!' What if I tell them that I actually live in them now? That I've put my love, power, and nature inside of them, at their disposal? What if I tell them that they don't have to put on masks? That it's okay to be who they are at this moment, with all their junk. That they don't need to pretend about how close we are, how much they pray or don't, how much Bible they read or don't. What if they knew they don't have to look over their shoulder for fear if things get too good, the other shoe's gonna drop off?
tter if they were any kind of Christian, after all he's done for you!' What if I tell them that I actually live in them now? That I've put my love, power, and nature inside of them, at their disposal? What if I tell them that they don't have to put on masks? That it's okay to be who they are at this moment, with all their junk. That they don't need to pretend about how close we are, how much they pray or don't, how much Bible they read or don't. What if they knew they don't have to look over their shoulder for fear if things get too good, the other shoe's gonna drop off?"What if they knew I will never, ever use the word punish in relation to them? What if they knew that when they mess up, I will never "get back at them?" What if they were convinced that bad circumstances aren't my way of evening the score for taking advantage of me? What if they knew the basis of our friendship isn't how little they sin, but how much the let me love them? What if I tell them they can hurt my hear, but that I never hurt theirs?"
"What if I tell them they can open their eyes when they pray and still go to heaven? What if I tell them there is no secret agenda, no trapdoor? What if I tell them it isn't about their self-effort, but about allowing me to live my life though them?"What if?
Taken from TrueFaced, By Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol, and John Lynch
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4 comments:
"What if I tell them it isn't about their self-effort, but about allowing me to live my life though them?" Can we simply "allow" God to live his life? Do we even have that power? What if God was a God who didn't have to be "allowed" to do things, who instead stormed the doors of our hearts and made us love him? What if we didn't have to "let" God love us, but instead he _would_ love us whether or not we "let" him?
What if, although it's "ok" to just be who we are with all our junk, we wanted to serve God because of what he's done for us?
Thank you for your comment :) You raise some great questions!
How do we "allow" God to work in us if He is all powerful? Well I think I allow Him to work in me because He allows me too ;) If that makes sense. Like sunflowers turn towards the sun: It's obvious the sun is the reason the flowers are looking upward but we’ll admit we didn't see the sun reach down and force their heads in its direction.
We absolutely must serve God-after all it's the proof ;) Proof that we've fallen in love with Him. We love because He first loved. We serve because He first served. We wash feet because He first washed feet. We strip ourselves down and become humble because He did-first! Which I think is just what you stated.
It would helpt to read the whole book-because then I think you'd see it does agree with you :)
Let me know if you'd like to borrow it sometime!
I think I know who you are so I'm going to go out on a limb here and say : Love you!
Elizabeth
Actually, you will be sad to note it was NOT me. I have not an idea of who wrote it. I would never write something like that. However, the commenter is RIGHT ON! Absolutely correct! and your attempt to clear the air doesn't help too much, though I can see where you are coming from.
I did at first think it was you but then I realized it probably wasn't. I'm not sure who it is now ;P
Please note that I do not in any way disagree with what Anonymous is saying-I agree. This part of the book just really blessed me. I talk SO much about having a relationship with Jesus/God but it might surprise you that I really struggle with this. I am such a Martha at heart and everything I write and talk about is things I am being taught not lessons I have learned.
My blog is a place where I put things that are special to me. It's a place where I keep track of what I am learning. I know much of what I teach and write is controversial but I'm getting use to that ;P
Blessings and Love!
me
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