What can I do to let in the Light?
Do you know that there is nothing you can do to make God hate you? It is through grace and accepting God’s love that you can let the light in. Grace is different from mercy. While mercy is not receiving the punishment you might deserve, grace is receiving the blessing and favor you have not earned. You might find it easier to extend grace to others than to claim it for yourself. You may not feel like you deserve grace, but understand that you don’t need to feel “good enough” to receive grace. Grace is already yours. Do you not know that you are already a child of God and that you have a divine spark inside you?
God is loving and love proceeds from God. Those who know love, know God, for God is love.
The Christian church (as well as other faith communities) have long been a source of love and acceptance, but also pain and rejection. Some church communities focus on particular actions or lifestyles that they deem offensive, and label them as “sins.” The word translated in English as “sin”, is better translated as, “to miss the mark” or “to go astray.” The term “sin” has been used in churches to condemn some and so separate us from each other. We often make the mistake of quantifying levels of sin, from excusable and unavoidable to those that are unforgivable. God, however, does not have a scale that weighs our sins or shortcomings. Apostle Paul was a man many thought to be beyond reproach. He was held in high-esteem. Yet Paul did not see himself in that way and so wrote about himself as “being the worst of all sinners.” But then he goes on to declare that neither he nor God held that negative account against him. He declared “freedom in Christ in all things.” Concentrating on what NOT to do (sin) or worrying about what you may be doing wrong is a trap. You avoid that trap by concentrating on what God would have you do, instead of focusing on what you should not be doing. The freedom from sin that Jesus advocates does not come from avoiding sin, but from concentrating on what God would have you pursue. Jesus came to make “sin” irrelevant and have no power over you. The divine voice inside you is (as CS Lewis put it) continuously articulate and always accessible if you quiet your thoughts and listen.
Jesus helped define grace for us by showing how impossible it was for us to reach God on human merit. Jesus through his teachings made the “narrow way” even more narrow till, at one point, the disciples became so frustrated that they threw up their hands and exclaimed “Who can be saved?” To this Jesus responded, “With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” What does that mean for me? What does that mean for you?
Are you relying on your own attempts at righteousness? Do you think that will give you peace and security? Instead of pursing justification on your own, consider accepting God’s grace and forgive yourself. Even though you are already a child of God, you may not feel like you are. So you might ask, “How do I know I am a child of God?” Jesus taught that you’ll know those who are living that truth in their life by the fruit born of their actions. Jesus called those the fruits of the spirit. The fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The first of these being love. With practice, love can become your moral default switch. You already have those attributes in you. Quiet your mind and open you heart to what God is saying to you. Seek out others who demonstrate spiritual fruit.
Jesus demonstrated extreme love throughout His lifetime, culminating with His death and resurrection, so that we could live without fear and self-condemnation. We may never fully appreciate how much God loves and accepts us. God meets you where you are at today. It is God who made you, and it is God who calls you, it is God who justifies you, and embraces you!
Be honest with who you really are now and accept God’s love, tender grace, and forgive yourself. You are already connected to the divine, so reach out.
Jesus said, “Behold I stand at the door and knock.” Will you open your closet door and let God’s light in?