Often when we think about being a better person or more
specifically a better Christian we think about things we have to do better or
things we have to do more of. We are
supposed to go to church, pray regularly, give thanks and to praise God, ask
for forgiveness, forgive others, give a portion of what we earn back to God,
read and study the Bible, tell others about Jesus, serve at church and love and
serve people in the community.
This isn’t an all-inclusive list, but even just thinking
about what I have failed to do on this list and what I need to do better on
this list leaves me feeling like a failure.
I feel guilty that I don’t do what I know I should. I want to do better and often I make a
conscious effort to do better but it seems like I rarely make any progress. It’s a vicious cycle of guilt, failure, and
feeling unworthy of being called a Christian.
There is nothing inherently wrong with these things and we
should do them. I strongly believe and have
often taught others that our faith must result in action. The Bible tells us “faith by itself, if it is
not accompanied by action, is dead” James 2:17.
No one with true faith will sit idly. The action of loving God and our neighbor
naturally follow being loved by God and having faith in God. These actions and practices strengthen our
faith and likewise our faith strengthens these practices.
But the truth is these actions were never meant to be a
burden.
Through Christ, God has set me free to be the person God
intended me to be. This should create a
sense of freedom and joy. But I am often
left with feeling the burden because I am weighed down by things that are not
of God.
In order to do I must first be. I cannot do what Christ has called me to do
if I am not the person Christ has called me to be.
And in order to be the person who God sees me as, I need to
let go of all that is not what God intended.
It’s not about doing more. For me
right now the things I need to chip away at are frustration, the anxiety of not
being in control, unworthiness, and uncertainty. They are consuming me. Yes, it’s a process, but every day I’d like
to take at least one tiny step toward walking away from these things.
God has set you free too. Think about what is it that you
need to get rid of. Just shake it off or
set it down or cut it out or whatever else you need to do. You don’t have to hold onto all those
things. You are free to walk away and
never look back.
