“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
— Galatians 5:1
— Galatians 5:1
What inspired this post was a story about one of my neighbors. They’re a Caucasian family, and they had taken a vacation to China. They went as a family and came back as a family - but with one more.
Her name was Jade, a small Chinese girl abandoned by her parents. They had visited an orphanage on their vacation, and their hearts went out to the little girls there. As they took Jade back to the States, a piece of their heart remained there at that orphanage.
Now they have another - Macy.
It amazes me how they love Jade and Macy so much, and how that love transformed their lives. Once they had been cast-offs. Now they are princesses (literally, for Halloween - at least for Jade). Once they were orphans. Now they are daughters.
Let the children come.
This is to commit myself to a post on children. Gosh they be cute.
I love it when we Christians just spill all our junk in front of everyone and just confess that we are broken people. When we confess our problems with anger and self-image and our addictions with pornography and approval. It’s very real. It also speaks against two misconceptions about Christians.
One, it says we are not “holier-than-thou.” We are sinners saved only by the mere pleasure of God. One cannot be self-righteous when confessing his darkest sins.
Two, it says we are not guilt-ridden. Some see Christians not as self-righteous but self-condemning and enslaved by guilt and shame. But, may I raise a question: is it not the guilty man who will hide his shameful deeds? It is - on the contrary - a man wholly free from this guilt and shame who can flaunt his misdeeds. It is a man who fully trusts he has been fully acquitted by Christ’s sacrifice who will have no need to save face - for Christ has saved him already.
And yes, this is the Gospel, this is the good news. That Jesus is in the business of redeeming broken people.
The Folly of Christ (cont.): This is the post I promised. Words cannot express the love God has for each and every one of us. Music comes closer.
If nothing else, 6:40.
God sacrificing his Son, the ultimate good, for humans, a lesser good. This is just to commit me to writing a longer post on this. More coming.
