tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460231368220088583.post4589641789853523838..comments2023-11-03T05:21:37.949-04:00Comments on Happy To Be Seen: So If We Are Under Grace Where Does The Law Fit In?Michael Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493809865215323875noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460231368220088583.post-43449605710327589942012-02-02T20:05:01.325-05:002012-02-02T20:05:01.325-05:00Wow Kelly, a powerful testimony to the truth and a...Wow Kelly, a powerful testimony to the truth and awkwardness of God's grace. Thank you for leaving this comment. It adds an element that was missing from my blog. I pray others will be able to see better by the light of your testimony. God bless.Michael Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09493809865215323875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460231368220088583.post-85659283956176698132012-02-02T09:44:06.741-05:002012-02-02T09:44:06.741-05:00Hey Pastor Paul, wonderful message. I grew up in ...Hey Pastor Paul, wonderful message. I grew up in a dysfunctional home where I learned that I had to earn every bit of love I got. <br /><br />When I came to Jesus, He reached out to me in a very personal, intimate way. Still, because I only knew how to do relationships one way, as soon as I got into a church, I immediately began the hoop-jumping process. It took me a while to even recognize that I was a legalistic Christian. <br /><br />Feeling like I had to follow the rules and do everything right for God's (and the church's) love made me resentful of others who weren't following the rules like I was. I was uncomfortable all the time, though, w/my own inability to adequately follow the law and with my negative feelings towards other. I really wanted to love people. It took a few years for God to move me from the law to His grace. It was a process, sometimes a roller coaster. <br /><br />God used Isaiah 50:10 - 11 to help me understand what I was trying to do. The picture of lighting my own torch to see my way thru the darkness rather than walking by the light of God was easy for me to understand and remember. Now, He simply reminds me that I am lighting my torch, and I know what He means. <br /><br />I have found, in ministering to people, that the understanding that there is no way that we can earn God's love is a profoundly difficult one to truly accept. Especially since so often, human love is so conditional, even when it comes from Christians. <br /><br />I have faced some pretty serious rejection from people, Christians, who just didn't think that I was worth it, and it makes grace-living a bit scary. Still, even if I have moments when trusting God's love and care for me feels a bit like a high wire act, I'd still rather live in His love than by the law.Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17670578232813960093noreply@blogger.com