February 24, 2013
One of the great struggles of my life has been performing to earn my acceptance. From early on in my childhood I felt I had to perform to win the love and approval of others. I found myself swinging between two opposite poles as I grew up. When I was keeping the rules and measuring up, I felt very confident in life. But when I was not following the rules, I would feel dejected and sink into despair.
I was basing my entire identity on being a rule keeper. Living this way made my life very challenging. While on the outside I looked like a good guy, inside I was a total mess. I finally realized I couldn't keep the rules and the people I was trying to impress didn't really care. It was at that point I abandoned the church and became a hippie. Hippies never had to follow the rules.
The performance lifestyle has been a popular one for a long period of time. It was addressed by the prophet Isaiah in 700 B.C. and quoted by Jesus in our passage today. (Mark 7:6,7) Here is what the prophet said,
"These people honor me with their lips,
Jesus applied this to the culture of his day. He said the people who atomized God's law into 613 rules were actually nullifying the Word of God. Our relationship with Jesus is not based on our being rule keepers. He doesn't love us more if we keep 589 or 590 rules. Our identity is formed by the knowledge that God loves us as sinners. We know that Jesus is a "friend of sinners." So as long as I admit I am a sinner I know I have at least one friend. And he is actually the most important friend to have. The truth is that Jesus is unconditionally in love with me, no matter where I am on the journey of life. I am far more loved than I can ever imagine.
The reason we like to keep the rules is because it gives us the right to earn our own salvation. See God, I have kept all these rules; now you owe me salvation. The scandal of grace is that it is free. There is nothing I can do to earn it. If you want a more authentic relationship with Jesus today, stop trying to earn it. Just tell him you are a sinner and in need of a new heart. Grace is for the desperate, the needy, the broken, those who cannot keep the rules in life. Grace is for all of us.
One of the great struggles of my life has been performing to earn my acceptance. From early on in my childhood I felt I had to perform to win the love and approval of others. I found myself swinging between two opposite poles as I grew up. When I was keeping the rules and measuring up, I felt very confident in life. But when I was not following the rules, I would feel dejected and sink into despair.
I was basing my entire identity on being a rule keeper. Living this way made my life very challenging. While on the outside I looked like a good guy, inside I was a total mess. I finally realized I couldn't keep the rules and the people I was trying to impress didn't really care. It was at that point I abandoned the church and became a hippie. Hippies never had to follow the rules.
The performance lifestyle has been a popular one for a long period of time. It was addressed by the prophet Isaiah in 700 B.C. and quoted by Jesus in our passage today. (Mark 7:6,7) Here is what the prophet said,
"These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
their teachings are but rules taught by men."
Jesus applied this to the culture of his day. He said the people who atomized God's law into 613 rules were actually nullifying the Word of God. Our relationship with Jesus is not based on our being rule keepers. He doesn't love us more if we keep 589 or 590 rules. Our identity is formed by the knowledge that God loves us as sinners. We know that Jesus is a "friend of sinners." So as long as I admit I am a sinner I know I have at least one friend. And he is actually the most important friend to have. The truth is that Jesus is unconditionally in love with me, no matter where I am on the journey of life. I am far more loved than I can ever imagine.
The reason we like to keep the rules is because it gives us the right to earn our own salvation. See God, I have kept all these rules; now you owe me salvation. The scandal of grace is that it is free. There is nothing I can do to earn it. If you want a more authentic relationship with Jesus today, stop trying to earn it. Just tell him you are a sinner and in need of a new heart. Grace is for the desperate, the needy, the broken, those who cannot keep the rules in life. Grace is for all of us.
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