but don't forget to tell yourself too.
The Gospel is not made to be hard, it is made for the most simple and the most ordinary of men. It is made for the brokenhearted, the lost soul, the angry beggar. It is made for the single mother, the orphaned child, and the hurting widow. It is also made for you.
The murkiness of sin has planted this seed of an unwanted desire for rebellion in each of our hearts. A popular attribute to have in the millennial culture is to want to be seen as different. To be set apart. It's like a million people all at once are screaming I'M DIFFERENT, while its all just one sad cry of we are actually all the same. We are actually all the same because we are all desiring the same thing, breaking the bondage of what the world expects of us. We want to run from what is expected. We have this seed of rebellion planted deep within the roots of our human nature. The thing that puzzles me the most, however, would be the fact that the most rebellious thing that someone could do would be to completely and wholeheartedly seek after the Lord, yet not a whole lot of people are running to do that. And if there "are" it looks a whole lot like coffee stained Instagram pictures of a devotional that probably just saw the light that day.
Wouldn't the most rebellious thing you could do be to touch the fringe, the very tip of Jesus' robe? To feel the rushing power that could absolutely kill you, yet it actually sets you free. To touch the glory of God, to feel it radiate through your fingertips, wouldn't that be rebellious? Wouldn't it be rebellious to be a Canaanite woman begging at Jesus' feet to heal your daughter and not take no for an answer? Wouldn't it be rebellious as a tax collector to invite Jesus into your home? Wouldn't it be rebellious to pursue God with everything you have when everything around you tells you there's no way?
Isn't it crazy that we are actually included in this rebellion? Yet the enemy sends lies straight to your soul to combat this and we give it far too much credit. This is war. This is not some flowery Instagram post about your devotional, this is spiritual warfare, this is serious and it is not something to be sugar coated. This is something that goes straight to your heart and sometimes even starts to flow through your veins. Sin is not some behavior probelm, it is a force. It is not something that we do occasionally, it is something that lives inside of every human. It needs to be combated. Combatted with prayer. Combatted with fasting. Combatted with truth. Combatted with the power, the love, and the awesomeness that is God.
Our sin is serious but it can never out do the immense extent of God's grace and mercy. Our messiness is never ever in competition with God's grace and love! As a believer, you are under the law of grace. This was bought by nails being dug into Jesus' hands. This was bought by blood dripping down Jesus' body. This was bought with a crown of thorns being placed on top of His head. You are free! You are redeemed! And we need to tell people about this! We need to rush into crowds telling this good news, this good rebellion! But we also need to look inwardly and speak this to ourselves. This is what I struggle with. I can outwardly express Jesus' love for His people, but I forget to say this inwardly. I forget that I too am included in this Gospel. I am included in His love. In his grace. In His mercy. His Gospel is so easy to understand. We are all included. It's not made to be difficult.
Walk in rebellion
Walk in freedom