Don't Focus on the Rules

An invitation to grace-based growth

We need to recover the beauty of discipleship. It starts with understanding the place where it begins (and ends).

In Christ, we have been reconciled to God and given an inheritance we could never earn. Rather than the punishment we deserve, we are granted access into the presence of our God and Father! 

In Christ, we have the very same status, rights and privileges as Jesus. Like Jesus, we are beloved children of God. Like Jesus, we have God’s favor. Like Jesus, we have been given the Holy Spirit so that we can live supernaturally. Like Jesus, we are agents of God’s Kingdom, capable of miraculously demonstrating what life in God’s Kingdom looks like. 

God is at work in his disciples, lovingly shaping them into the image of his Son, so that each of them, in a totally unique way, displays the same story of Amazing Grace.

The process of this shaping takes place by experiencing what it means to live life in God’s presence. The New Testament uses many different images and words to describe this. In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul talks about life in the Spirit vs. life in the flesh. He makes it clear: Our goal is not to be good at keeping rules (which can lead us to become pharisaical prigs just as easily as it can lead us to become morally upright). Our goal is to be good at hearing the Holy Spirit.  

The adventure of the Christian life is to keep growing in our ability to respond to every situation in fellowship with the Lord. Along the way, we will fail at this. A lot.

The Good News is this: Our failures in this endeavor have already been seen by God and forgiven in Christ. So, this is a situation without the pressure of rejection. The Father isn’t waiting for us to break the last straw so he can judge us. Jesus was already judged.

The Father has given us the Holy Spirit so that, at every turn, we can see what we’re facing from his perspective. We don’t have to get caught up in the negativity and fear of the world. Instead, like Jesus, we can face every situation with the knowledge that we are loved by God and the confidence that he’s doing something through this circumstance that will take us further in our relationship with him.

The challenge is learning to live that way. But it’s a happy challenge. Grace means it’s not like walking a tightrope over a vat of hot lava. Instead, it’s like an Easter Egg hunt. Sometimes, we’ll look in the wrong place. Sometimes, we’ll get frustrated. But through it all, our Father is at work. He’s in every moment, creating an opportunity for us to discover the treasure we have in Christ. And the greatest treasure, we discover over time, is simply God himself. There is nothing that compares to his presence.

In God’s presence, we discover peace. Our world can offer us distractions from our problems. Our world can even offer solutions to a presenting crisis. However, our world cannot truly offer peace in the midst of problems that seem insurmountable. God’s presence can. As you discover how to live life in the presence of God, you will find that even the most challenging circumstances can be navigated with absolute calm. You don’t have to live with fear and worry.

In God’s presence, we discover love. Sure, it sounds cheesy, but the truth is, we all desperately want to know that we’re loved and accepted. Most of us live in the fear that we are not enough (and those who don't, in the illusion that they are). We live with shame and a fear of being found out. Most of the relational stresses we experience are, in one way or another, responses to our deep need for true love. This is a love no person can provide. It is the love that only God can give. It is the love of a Father who will always welcome you home as a favored son or daughter.

In God’s presence, we discover glory. Our hearts were made to respond to things that are good, true, and beautiful. When we encounter something that perfectly exhibits goodness, or truth, or beauty, we simply stop and marvel. This is how God designed us. All the things we encounter in creation that make us go, “Wow!” are plucking the strings of our heart, tuning them so that when we encounter God, the real symphony will start. In short, we were made to worship. In the presence of God, we are allowed to stand, without inhibition or guilt, within the light of perfect goodness, truth and beauty. We are allowed to drink deeply. We are allowed to celebrate and exclaim. No sensory experience on earth, however amazing, can compare. It's the experience we've tried to capture with the word, “Bliss.”

The presence of God is the purpose of your existence. You were made for this. God is most glorified when you are satisfied in him. This is the point of discipleship.