Thanks for stopping by! This is Day 22 of my 2015 “31 Days Reflecting on God” series. Find the rest over here.
But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior. Titus 3:4-6
We have so much freedom knowing that the “works of righteousness that we have done” aren’t what make us secure. Growing up, I often heard that God doesn’t weigh our good deeds and bad deeds on a scale to see if we had been good enough to get to heaven.
Instead, he gave us salvation freely through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Nothing we can do can save us. I knew that my soul was safe in God.
But I wrestled feeling that as a Christian I had to keep doing good works to keep God happy. As the oldest in my family, I was hardwired to be responsible and wanted to always make my parents happy. I somehow missed the fact that they loved me unconditionally no matter what I did. And I transposed that onto God, too.
God knows we can never live perfect lives while on this earth. He gives us mercy upon mercy upon mercy. He personally provided payment for our sin. He steps in and gives us a new heart so we can walk in righteousness. He washes us clean by this new birth and renews us daily by his Spirit.
And his word and the instructions he gives us for living are in themselves a mercy – not a burden. He wants our lives to go well and he knows that can only happen as we follow the laws he set in place. Of course it pleases him when we obey – but because he wants our good! He could have left us blindly wandering without answers but instead he mercifully spelled out exactly both how life will work best for us. We will honor him as our Creator and Savior as we live that way.
So Jesus calls out to us, “Come, follow me.” And when we respond to that call, in his mercy he washes us clean from sin, by his mercy tells us which way to go, and in mercy gives us the freedom to choose what’s right.
God could wave an iron fist over us for all we’ve done wrong, blaming and accusing and demanding our submission. He would be justified in making us all pay for our own sin. But he withholds all judgment and kindly calls us to come, just as we are, to find healing, washing, and refuge for our hearts. He leads us mercifully in the way we should go, and we find peace.