Freeing

I once heard someone say that balance was the key to everything and it seems to be something that constantly eludes me.

Not only does it apply to various things to which I give my time during the day, but the very thing that my life is based around.

It seems as if I'm either doing very well, or not well at all in my spiritual walk and as I examine my life, there are so many things that I see that I need to work on, while at the same time I find pride in the things that I am somehow managing to keep up, but then I recognize that pride and think I'm not really doing that well, and then around and around it goes.

With the start of a new year, it's easy to sit down and to examine different things within my life and see how much I'm lacking.

Prayer life? Meh... could be better.

Devotions? They happen, but I need to learn how to come with expectation instead of with duty.

Living out my faith? Should really take more risks...

And on and on it goes. The more I look at my life, the more I realize that I will never be perfect and that can sometimes lead to a feeling of "Well, what's the use?"

And 1 Peter 1:16 answers me: "For the Scriptures say, 'You must be holy because I am holy.'"

It becomes about my works as I strive for this holiness... as I strive to seek out His kingdom.

There's only one thing wrong... I'm doing it on my own strength.

I was drawn to the book of Galatians a little while ago by the summary offered by my Bible at the beginning, which focused around the intent of the letter being to show the Galatians that since they had been set free by Christ's sacrifice, they were no longer required to follow the law.

And as I've been reading and have now reached the end of chapter 4 today, I have been struck by the message that Paul is trying to get through the Galatians' (and my) thick skull: We can do nothing. He does everything.

I once had someone tell me that sin is the only thing we contribute to our salvation and it rings true.

Chapter 3: 3 brings it to a head: "How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?"

Ouch.

"So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, 'It is through faith that a righteous person has life.' This way of faith is very different from the way of the law, which says, 'It is through obeying the law that a person has life.'" (3:11-12)

Faith.

Faith that I cannot accomplish perfection, but that Christ can and has. Faith that that freedom extends to me today, breaking me free from trying to do it on my own.

Free.

I have always struggled with the conundrum of how to allow God to be the One working in my life and how to uphold my part of the deal so that I'm not just saying, "Oh, if God wants to do any work in my life, it's up to Him."

Yes, it's up to Him and yet I have to be willing to be freed. Willing to let go of this illusion that somehow I can do it on my own.

Letting go of the illusion of freedom and falling into the arms of the true Freedom.