Wide Open Spaces

Romans 5:20 says “The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

At first glance this scripture might be misunderstood to explain away sin because Christ freely offers grace to overcome it all. However, it should be looked at like a stepping-stone to understand that grace is offered to everyone, without reservation. There are many people who feel that they are not worthy of a personal relationship with God because of the things they have done or things they are currently doing. This scripture clearly states that no one is capable of keeping the law and in fact that was the reason it was created. It showed that we are all sinful by nature and separated from God. It is only through Jesus Christ was our debt paid and the veil which separated us torn down.

However, once we encounter God’s unyielding grace, we should be prompted to seek His glory to a greater depth. This can only happen when we intentionally dig deep into His presence and obey without hesitation. This has often been difficult for me in situations that conflict with my pride.

When hurt, misunderstood, or judged, I tend to react on emotion. Even if its God that I think I am standing up for, I feel it’s my responsibility to set the record straight. This has been increasingly clear in my more intimate relationships and I am often confused where my loyalties should stand out in such cases. But if I looked closer to the evidence of how my reaction is portrayed, I am confident that God would want me to take a more subtle approach. There are some times when we may be prompted to run from relationships that continually cause us to sin, but other times, He ask us to stay put and be weary of our own heart in relation to it. Perhaps we can grow from those particular encounters by trusting God to reveal Himself through us to them in due time. Perhaps it is not about them at all but about teaching us to push through any resentment to find forgiveness and strength in Him alone. Perhaps we’ll never know or understand the true value in continuing that relationship other then knowing that obedience to God is key to our refining process.

I have to have faith in knowing that God is bigger then my pride and that the reward, which awaits me on the other side of this obedience, is well worth the hit to it. I also acknowledge the fact that the unending power to calm the raging seas will come to my rescue to calm my raging heart when I surrender them over to Him. It is up to me to allow Him the space to fill in those gaps that resonate in my nature and it is up to Him to figure out the process to do so. I may not always see or understand the path at which He chooses but I trust Him because of my narrow perspective.