Simply put, I am someone who had a completely backward view of what it truly means to be a Christian.
I used to think being a Christian meant you had to be someone who “had everything all together” and were able to successfully check off the admirable “Living Right” check boxes of life.
The problem with that is it puts everything on MY shoulders and MY power to reach a certain status or salvation, which is impossible.
The trouble with that way of thinking is that it usually manifests itself in two dead-end scenarios.
On one hand, if we are somehow able to do “all the right things” (which we can’t do them all), we leave the back door to our soul wide open for pride to slip in and give us an inflated view/opinion of ourselves, and a moralistic view of others who don’t do the things we do, or as well as we think WE do them.
And on the other hand, if it’s by our doing, we will eventually crumble under the pressure of never knowing if the good things we did were “good enough” and we can become hopeless, or worse, turn away from God because we think He is too demanding or is trying to ruin our “good time” here on Earth.
However, if we fix our eyes on the cross – and truly meditate on the fact that while we are so undeserving Jesus HAD to die for us, but yet so loved He was GLAD to die for us! – it will change us from the inside out.
Totally backward from the way I used to see it, and I have a sneaking suspicion that many still see it like that today.
And that is the very purpose behind “A Changing Grace” – it’s not that grace has ever changed or ever will, but instead, if we commit ourselves to focusing on the pure meaning of grace, IT will change us!
It’s not about the things we do or have done.
It’s ALL about the one thing He did for me and you!
I like to call it 180-degree thinking (you’ll come to see this is a pattern of thinking I do a lot).
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are consequences for our actions, but the point is, the ONLY way our proverbial slates can be wiped spotless is through Jesus.
So instead of trying to gain grace (which, by the way, is an oxymoron), if we let an overwhelming sense of gratitude for what Jesus has already done for us on the cross motivate us – I mean sincerely let it penetrate our hearts and become the porthole in which we see everything and everyone around us – that is when lives can be transformed.
By His power, not mine or yours.
Since this is my inaugural post on A Changing Grace, I would like to ask you to keep a few things in mind if you read any of my musings:
- My intention to deliver a fresh, dynamic, relational and practical view of Christianity far outweighs my qualifications to do so.
- However, I believe God can, and regularly does, work wonders through ordinary people (even people named Mike).
- I promise (to try my best) to keep my posts to a “comfortable” reading length.
- Because of that, please understand I will not be able to answer every question or issue about Christianity in any one given post. I personally couldn’t do that regardless of the length of my posts anyway.
- And because of that, please view A Changing Grace as “a body of work” rather than singling any one post out as my entire theological stance.
- I can almost guarantee someone will disagree with something I write, so please refer to No.1.
- Lastly, I thank you in advance for reading any word I write.
Welcome to A Changing Grace,
Mike
A Changing Grace 