A new way of living. What will it take?

I've been working through a lot of guilt recently, whether it is from past mistakes or legalism with my own faith, it's been a topic that keeps haunting me. With that said, I've been learning lessons that I've learned before, but this time they've hit me harder. I was listening to "beautiful" by Bethany Dillon yesterday and that song always reminds me that where I've fallen and where I've been are all things that have played a part of my character today but that does not mean that those sins, mistakes or shortcomings are who I am. God made the choice even before we were born to be committed to us and to love us unconditionally despite the things we were to do, experience or choose in our lifetime. Unfortunately we choose these things, sometimes not knowing why we chose them or the repercussions that they might have on our future relationships or path. When the mistakes we make and the feelings that those cause us become our future, that’s when we’ve lost sight of our purpose in life. Guilt is neither a quality that God possesses nor one that He wants me to feel.

I’m making my way through LOST for the first time (I tend to be stubborn and don’t like to be a part of things when they’re popular) and it’s taught me quite a few things about myself. I am a very judgmental person. I jump to conclusions for no reason and it’s awful. Why do we as humans do this? I think for me, whenever I do this it’s because I feel undermined or different than the person I’m judging. I find it hard getting along with and enjoying being around people who are different than me. I keep thinking about how backwards this is. All Jesus did was hang out with people completely different than Him. It’s been quite a wake up call for me to understand how important it is to surround myself with the people Jesus did--everyone. The homeless, the unreached, the prostitutes, the widows, the broken hearted, the rich, the poor….this is what I want to be a part of, something so much bigger than myself.

I hope that you experience the grace of Christ on this day. Sometimes….actually, all the time, it’s nearly impossible for me to understand His love for me. I wonder how different my life would be if I truly LIVED like I was redeemed, forgiven, loved and a daughter of the King. How would this change the way I saw everyone else? I challenge you to figure out what you need to do to live this way. We can’t afford to live half-heartedly for Christ. Let’s be a part of something bigger….something transformational.