There is something really wrong with me, I still catch myself trying to earn my salvation. It would seem that my mind and thinking have been bent into going with the flow of my religion and the powers of this world. The Gospel of Grace that I think that I know so well, in some way becomes twisted into religious bondage and everyday distortion. If I am not careful, I tend to relegate my great, big, awesome God into a small score keeper tending the books, while sitting in a over sized chair. Church seems to have become institutionalized and often seems as if it is hurting more than it is helping.

Our big problem is that we tend to accept the idea of grace in theory, but not in practice. We say that we believe what the Scriptures teach about salvation being by grace, but our lives seem to always be focused on works. On most days, we are living stuck in guilt, fear and an “I just don’t care anymore” attitude, when we should be living in a free, loving, full of amazing grace miracle.

The truth is that our whole culture runs counterclockwise to grace, especially God’s understanding and explanation, which happens to be the only understanding and explanation that really matters. We become focused on a “do it yourself” spirituality and a “look out for yourself” attitude. Instead of practicing the Golden Rule of: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!”; we practice the worlds standard of “Do unto others, before they do unto you!”

Romans 2:8-10 says: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Most of us view our relationship with God, as our chasing after and trying to catch Him, but the truth is: Our relationship with God is about Him chasing after and catching us with His amazing grace and unconditional love. God, our great lover, chases after our heart and affections and presents us with the most amazing gift ever given the gift of relationship, not based on what we have or have not done, but founded, nurtured and grown totally and completely by His amazing grace.

I don’t have to earn it! I can’t earn it, but I can enjoy it and when I do enjoy it, it makes loving Him back a very natural thing!