“Living by grace inspires a growing consciousness that I am what I am in the sight of Jesus and nothing more.” BRENNAN MANNING
We are all living by something. Meaning, there is something that drives and shapes how we navigate our typical day. For some, they are living by fear, or worry, or guilt, or anxiety, or depression. Whereas for others, they are living by a set of expectations, whether it be their own or the expectations people have placed upon them. Either way, regardless of who you are, there is ‘something’ that we are living by.
What is it for you? For me, well, it has been a long hard journey away from ‘performance.’ I’m a people-pleaser. In other words, I don’t want to disappoint or let people down. That mentality applied not only to my horizontal relationships, but my vertical ones as well.
If performance is the ‘something’ that has or is shaping much of who you are, then you will feel heavy. No, not physically speaking, but you will feel the weight that comes with carrying everyone’s disappointments. Disappointment is heavy when it’s coming from a friend, family member, or co-worker, but when you ‘feel’ as if God is disappointed in you, wow, that is an unbearable crushing weight.
Grace is MANY things, actually, grace is EVERYTHING, but practically speaking, grace is FREEDOM. I’d be lying if I said I’m totally free from my desire to please all people all the time, but over the past many years, I can tell you in all sincerity that I am walking with God much lighter.
Grace reminds me daily that God is pleased with me. And not because of my performance, but because of what Jesus has made me… a child of God. And as a child of God, my Father (your Father) is pleased to call us His kids. And just so you know, as His child, you bring great delight to your Heavenly Father, and not because of performance, but simply because that’s who God is as our Father.
Grace reminds me daily that even when people are disappointed in me, I don’t need to carry the weight of that disappointment because who I am is not determined or driven by what others say or think of me.
Now to be clear, this does not give me permission to be lazy in my efforts and attempts to serve those around me (not at all). It’s just to say that when I fall short of how I want to love, care for, and serve those around me, grace protects me from carrying an unnecessary weight that is not consistent with who God has declared me to be.
Currently, something is shaping how we navigate each and every day. The ragamuffin gospel reminds you and I that when GRACE shapes who we are, we will live light and free and maybe, just maybe, the smile on our face will cause others to be a bit curious as to where this smile comes from. And the answer is simply… GRACE.
