Guilt says, "You're broken beyond all repair."
Grace says, "Get ready for a miraculous restoration."
Guilt says, "You're too far gone."
Grace says, "You are just one step from home."
Guilt says, "You're damaged goods. No good to anyone or anything."
Grace says, "You are something good in the making. God isn't finished with you yet."
Guilt says, "I see a wounded and weak man."
Grace says, "I see a mended and strong warrior."
2nd Corinthians 5:17-19 tells me all I need to know about grace and the restorative power it possesses.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
I am not the man I was a while ago, grace saved me. I am not what guilt tells me I am, not anymore. I am a NEW creation in the eyes of Christ. The old me is something that has to be nailed to the cross each and every single day. Some days it is easier than others, the nails get harder to drive home when I believe what guilt tells me over the message of grace.
There are cloudy and dark days, when I feel the pull of guilt on my sleeve or tapping on my shoulder, reminding me of who "it" says that I am. I see the worst man I can be when I listen to the lies that guilt tell me. But just like when the sun bursts on the scene first thing in the morning, I see the best man I can be through the eyes of grace.
Grace reminds me that I am bought and paid for, that guilt doesn't own me anymore. Just as Paul tells me in the passage above, "If I am in Christ, I am a new creation. The old man has died and the new one has shown up." Am I perfect? Nope! Do I make mistakes? Yep! Absolutely. Do I sin? Sadly, yeah that too. Do I still have access to the same grace that I did a few years ago? Absofreakinlutley I do!
So do you. All you have to do is be IN CHRIST. Don't allow the guilt from your actions in the past rule over your life like a little dictator. If we are in Christ and have accepted the grace He freely gives us then guilt gets kicked to the curb. It takes work to maintain the life Christ wants for us. It isn't something that sticks without practice. Don't listen to guilt anymore. Allow grace to have it's day.
Grace says, "Get ready for a miraculous restoration."
Guilt says, "You're too far gone."
Grace says, "You are just one step from home."
Guilt says, "You're damaged goods. No good to anyone or anything."
Grace says, "You are something good in the making. God isn't finished with you yet."
Guilt says, "I see a wounded and weak man."
Grace says, "I see a mended and strong warrior."
2nd Corinthians 5:17-19 tells me all I need to know about grace and the restorative power it possesses.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
I am not the man I was a while ago, grace saved me. I am not what guilt tells me I am, not anymore. I am a NEW creation in the eyes of Christ. The old me is something that has to be nailed to the cross each and every single day. Some days it is easier than others, the nails get harder to drive home when I believe what guilt tells me over the message of grace.
There are cloudy and dark days, when I feel the pull of guilt on my sleeve or tapping on my shoulder, reminding me of who "it" says that I am. I see the worst man I can be when I listen to the lies that guilt tell me. But just like when the sun bursts on the scene first thing in the morning, I see the best man I can be through the eyes of grace.
Grace reminds me that I am bought and paid for, that guilt doesn't own me anymore. Just as Paul tells me in the passage above, "If I am in Christ, I am a new creation. The old man has died and the new one has shown up." Am I perfect? Nope! Do I make mistakes? Yep! Absolutely. Do I sin? Sadly, yeah that too. Do I still have access to the same grace that I did a few years ago? Absofreakinlutley I do!
So do you. All you have to do is be IN CHRIST. Don't allow the guilt from your actions in the past rule over your life like a little dictator. If we are in Christ and have accepted the grace He freely gives us then guilt gets kicked to the curb. It takes work to maintain the life Christ wants for us. It isn't something that sticks without practice. Don't listen to guilt anymore. Allow grace to have it's day.
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