I named this blog site (two:20) after my favorite verse (as of now), which is Galatians 2:20. If you're not familiar with it, it says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." I love this verse because it's so powerful. It tells that Jesus loved us so much that He died for us, but it also tells us what it's like to be a true follower of Christ-no longer living for ourselves, but living for Him. It's a pretty popular verse that you usually hear by itself, not with the other verses surrounding it, kind of like Jeremiah 29:11. While this verse in Galatians is powerful on it's own, I've only focused on it and never really read the verse after it, the last verse in the chapter. But tonight I did, and it hit me in the face.
"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."
Wow.
I get so caught up in trying to find righteousness in my deeds. While doing good deeds and following God's law is what we're supposed to do (don't think I'm saying we don't have to follow God's laws), we don't have to beat ourselves up every time we fall short. We're all sinners. No matter how hard we try, no matter how many hours we study our bibles, no matter how many times a day we pray, we're going to mess up at some point. It. Just. Happens. And I find myself getting so bogged down over the fact that I've screwed up, that I forget about God's grace. I forget that Jesus died so that I don't have to get bogged down by what seems like my endless failures. When I fail, when I know I mess up, it's what I focus on. And while I should be working on fixing those mistakes, I get so down about my screwups that I lose focus on doing better. If I can remember God sent HIS ONLY SON to die for ME, that will keep me going through the failures. That will push me to do better, to try harder, to go the opposite direction, instead of being so hard on myself that I struggle to come back from it.
Tonight, I'm completely overwhelmed by God's grace. I don't want the last part of that verse to be true. I want the torture and crucifixion of my Savior to have a purpose, to not be in vain. I want to do whatever I can to live the verse 20 life, and I want to remember verse 21 when I slip up here and there.
"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."
Wow.
I get so caught up in trying to find righteousness in my deeds. While doing good deeds and following God's law is what we're supposed to do (don't think I'm saying we don't have to follow God's laws), we don't have to beat ourselves up every time we fall short. We're all sinners. No matter how hard we try, no matter how many hours we study our bibles, no matter how many times a day we pray, we're going to mess up at some point. It. Just. Happens. And I find myself getting so bogged down over the fact that I've screwed up, that I forget about God's grace. I forget that Jesus died so that I don't have to get bogged down by what seems like my endless failures. When I fail, when I know I mess up, it's what I focus on. And while I should be working on fixing those mistakes, I get so down about my screwups that I lose focus on doing better. If I can remember God sent HIS ONLY SON to die for ME, that will keep me going through the failures. That will push me to do better, to try harder, to go the opposite direction, instead of being so hard on myself that I struggle to come back from it.
Tonight, I'm completely overwhelmed by God's grace. I don't want the last part of that verse to be true. I want the torture and crucifixion of my Savior to have a purpose, to not be in vain. I want to do whatever I can to live the verse 20 life, and I want to remember verse 21 when I slip up here and there.