Galatians 5:13-15
It is absolutely clear that God
has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this
freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your
freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s
how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up
in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of
true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time
at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious
freedom be then?
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
For almost 40 years, I
have dabbled in genealogy. I started with oral histories from my
grandmothers and great-aunts. They would often tell me snippets about
family members with the caveat…”You don’t want to dig too deeply!” Over
the years, I learned that there were often at least two sides (or more)
to the stories…but I have to admit, some of their memories colored my
opinions of our ancestors. And in a few cases, I took on the
resentments and feelings of ill will that were shared with me.
Over
time, I have started to let go of grudges and resentments. I have
asked God to show me how to love others as He loves me…to help me to see
them as He sees them. And as I learn to release my prejudices and
pre-conceived notions, I am discovering a tremendous freedom. I find
that life is lighter…fuller…more joyful when I concentrate on operating
in Christ’s love.
Who are we to judge and disparage another…and
then expect God to love us and forgive our sins? What right do we have
to place ourselves on pedestals and condemn those we have decided are
wrong in some way? Aside from the fact that this flies in the face of
the primary commandment of Jesus Christ (who died for our sins, by the
way!), we fail to realize the burden that we impose on ourselves by
judging others and operating in anything other than love. It gets to
the point sometimes where we need a score card to remember who we are
supposed to like/love…and who is “on our list” for some reason!
I’ve
started to look at old pictures and oral histories and try to imagine
the people in them as Jesus would…to see what He sees…and to love them
with His heart. It’s made a world of difference in my attitude…and in
the joy of “tracing my roots!” And I am transferring this newfound
wisdom to my everyday living…and trying to love and accept others as
equals in the eyes of Jesus.
Satan wants to weigh us down with
the chains and shackles of judgment, resentment, bias, and disdain – if
not outright hate. But Jesus wants us to cast our burdens and
heartaches on Him…and operate in the freedom of His love. In large
part, this is a conscious choice that we must make…but it’s essentially a
“game changer!” Won’t you kick your grudges and judgments to the curb
and experience the freedom of loving as Jesus loves? Isn’t this the
perfect day to begin?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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