Can We Boast?

As others look at me from the outside, I do not really know what they are seeing. I figure, they may see me and think, "but it comes easy for you. Your change came easier for you than it is for me." I don't know, this is just, maybe, what others think of me now. If they think this, they are wrong. Do you know what my sins were? My life was sin. Everything that I thought was impure. Everything that I did had sin written all over it in some form. Whether it was in the form of chemical addictions, pornography, lies, hate, bitterness, slander, you name it, I lived it. Whether we want to admit it or not, we have all sinned. Even those, who claim they do not believe in God, suffer the consequence of disobeying Him. Romans 2, "Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right." I breathed the consequences of my living, even while I while I was denying the right of God's laws, I was feeling the consequences of disobeying Him. If you ever think that faith just falls in some peoples laps and obeying God comes naturally, you are wrong. But, everyone is given the same opportunity to change their life and open their eyes. It may seem easier for some than for others, but in my case, you have not seen the early mornings that I have spent with God. You have not seen the intense physical struggle that I have had with my own evil desires. You have not felt the many mornings of emptiness that I have gone through, while I was just reading words on a page, waiting for something to change within me. God has given everyone the same opportunity. He did not give me any more of a special gift, than He has given to everyone else.

I spent many years learning who I was, before I could accept the free gift that Christ has given to me. I went through several phases before truly seeing the freedom that He has offered. The first phase was one of realizing, I had done everything wrong. I had to see myself for who I really was, a dead person lost in sin. Then, the next phase was in trying to be good enough, by obeying laws. After I realized the bondage that laws gave me, I knew there had to be something more. Romans 3:21, 22, "But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are." Does this mean that we continue living in sin? No, it means that we learn what true living is all about. If we see our sin, in the truth of our sin, we will not want to continue to live in it. Neither, will we want to leave our sin to earn our salvation. Instead, we will want to leave it, because we have faith In Christ.

Romans 3:23-27, "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law."

My journey has taken me through many different paths. The path I am most grateful for, is the one I am currently enjoying. My life has changed. It has changed, because I first took the step in faith. I did not understand everything and I had to journey down some wrong roads, even after accepting Christ, but this time I was not walking alone. Every morning I ask Him to reveal His truth to me. Sometimes, I do not think I can hear Him, but with time, I have realized, He was just waiting for me to take my next step in faith. He has given everyone the same opportunity, they just seem to be different. It is the same, for He died for everyone. His blood covers us all. It is a free gift. He is patient in waiting for us to accept it. The only question is, how many consequences will we have to suffer through, before we will grab hold of Him, for He has never let go of you. I have not really changed all that much, for I still sin. What has changed is the fact that I now put my faith in Christ and not myself. My hearts desire is to live my life for Him, instead of seeking the false intimacy and pleasures the world offers. I have found what true living is all about. Have you?