Verse For Thought

Romans has always been my favorite book of the bible. Something about it being the first book that I read beginning to end as a new believer, and the nearly completely highlighted orange pages, just makes me fall in love with Christ all over again every time I read it. 

What can I say? There's a lot of gold in there. 

Or, I guess now there's just a lot of orange. 

Ha, I know. I'm hilarious. 

Anywho, when we had to decide what we wanted to study in our bible study, I immediately suggested the idea of Romans. We've been going through it every week, and I have so enjoyed getting a new perspective on all of the words and ideas that inspired me to commit my life to Christ in the first place. 

A verse that truly spoke to me this week is Romans 7:6,

But now we have been released from the law, 

for we died with Christ, and we are no longer captive to its power. 

Now we can really serve God, 

not in the old way by obeying the letter of the law,

but in the new way, by the Spirit. 

I think Christians have a rep for living a life of rules. And from an outsider's perspective, I can totally see that. I mean, they're called the 10 commandments for a reason, right? They're commanding us to live our life a certain way. 

But the thing is, that's not quite how it works. We are not saved by following rules, or living according to any particular laws. The truth is, living a life perfectly following the commandments is impossible. 

We are saved by our loving savior, Jesus Christ. We are saved because he loved us so much that he came and died for us, to release us from the law that kept us from our Father. 

I don't think anyone wakes up one morning and thinks, I want to live in a way that seems ridiculous to the rest of the world. 

At least I certainly didn't. I was right there living in the world, and not thinking anything of it. 

Until I invited the Spirit into my life. And that's when things changed. That's when I wanted to live my life according to these rules. 

Today, I am thankful for a Father that does not hold us to an impossible standard. I am thankful for a loving Father who recognizes how deeply flawed we are as humans. And in spite of ourselves, works within us to make us the best versions of ourselves. 

Hallelujah!