A Response

God’s love story for a broken world.

Have you ever thought about the Bible being a love story to you?
A book written for YOU, a story about broken people, in need of a Savior?
A Savior who came down, from a perfect world, to live among us, and die for us?
Now THAT, is a love story.

So now what?
I think this is where our part of the story begins – it begins with a response.

A response to His love.
A response to His sacrifice.
A response to His Word.

We cannot serve two masters. We have a choice and a response to make. How will you respond?

The Christian life can be hard – God even says that there will be trials and persecutions. But how often do we make it difficult because of the responses and choices we make – being it’s our own doing?

Here’s some verses for those who like tongue twisters:
Romans 7:15-20 says: 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

How often do we know the right thing to do, yet do the complete opposite?
What if we looked at the Christian life as a RESPONSE to what Christ did for us? Would we be more careful in our actions and words?

So often we look at other’s lives and think “I can’t believe they call themselves a Christian and act that way.” Though that may be true, but how are we to respond? Do you ever wonder if Christ thinks that about us? As I was thinking about that today, I often wonder how I portray God in my everyday life. Do I live my life out of response to what Christ has done for me? Or do I live life looking at the cup half empty, thinking about what I can and can’t do because I am a Christian?

What if we responded to God, looking at the cup half full, thinking about what WE CAN DO because of Christ? We can choose to live free in Him. We can choose to serve one master. We can choose to love the way He loved. Here we have a Book that tells the how-tos, yet we make our own how-tos with legalism. We set standards for ourselves and others that are unrealistic and unbiblical. What we should be doing instead, is responding to God out of love for Him – out of what He did for us.

If we respond to HIM, we allow ourselves to be humble, filled with grace, reacting in love (not out of obligation), and it helps us let go of the things that hinder, to free ourselves in complete surrender to Him.

So how will you respond to Christ? Do you see it as all the do’s and don’ts of life? Do you see it as “well now I have to’s”, instead of “now I get to’s”? Is your life guided by Christ’s love for you on the cross?

Every day, we get a chance to respond.

How will you?