Over Easy

”Any concept of grace that makes us feel more comfortable sinning is not Biblical grace. God’s grace never encourages us to live in sin, on the contrary, it empowers us to say no to sin and yes to truth.” ~Randy Alcorn

From the beginning of time we have tried our best to take the “easy” way out. Unfortunately it always has backfired on us yet we never seem to learn. Eve thought she was taking the easy route but look where it got her, kicked out of the garden. We try that with grace as well. We think we can take the “easy route” of thinking because of God’s grace we have the license to sin because we will be forgiven.

 It almost seems like we have become lazy in our Christian walk as we stroll along on that theory of “it’s okay if I sin, God will forgive me.” The more we live in that theory the further away from God we become. We cheapen His grace by the attitude and actions we often take.

 God’s grace is not there to give us the go ahead to do whatever we please it is there to help us when we stumble. It keeps us from falling further into something we shouldn’t be doing.

 Like any good parent God doesn’t allow us to get away with everything we desire to do but He is there for us when we mess up occasionally. This is where grace steps in as He walks along side of us until we get our spiritual legs under us and are able to walk on our own. Not on our own to live as we choose to live but to take what we learn from God and finally apply it to our lives. His grace empowers us to say no to sin and yes to the truth. The truth found in God’s word.

 Often when we talk about God’s grace we get it and God’s mercy intertwined. The way I was always taught was God’s mercy is not getting what we do deserve and God’s grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Either one are wonderful paths laid out for us just waiting for us to walk down them. They both have to do with God’s love for us. What we do in return should have to do with our love for Him.

The Christian life or walk is not an easy route. It’s not the “easy” way out of things. It’s a lifestyle that will take us into eternity not get us kicked out of the garden. It’s by the grace of God that we will succeed just like it’s by our own ambitions we will fail.

When God hands us His grace, His love, He is not handing us an “easy” button we can push whenever we feel like it. He is handing us the biggest opportunity of a life time that will last for all eternity. It would do us well to say “Yes” to Him and no to the world.

Take this world and give me Jesus is the choice we need to be striving for. No shortcuts, no easy streets, no alternate routes. God’s grace is the fuel needed to get us where we need to be, not an insurance policy to fall back on when we recklessly live our lives as Christians outside of His laws and will.

I will take Jesus over easy any day, “over easy” it’s more than a breakfast order!

 

© 2012 Karen Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes