There are so many people who “used” to believe in God.

Who used to go to church and pray and read the Bible.  But then some bad stuff happened in their lives, and stuff didn’t really end up the way they should have, and now they have no use for that Jesus garbage.

It’s crazy how much we view God as a casino slot machine. We slip the coins in and after spending a bit of time, we expect some payback.

Or maybe another analogy would be our car.  We gas it, clean it, and change the oil.  And we expect that it will take us from point A to point B.  When it doesn’t, we look for a problem.  Is it out of gas?  Does it need a new belt or transmission?   Can I invest more money in it so that it continues to do what it should?

God doesn’t work that way.

It doesn’t matter how good you are.  It doesn’t matter if you keep all your rules, give lots of money away, or read a verse every day.  There is no guarantee that you will not experience suffering, in some form or another.

In fact, Jesus said to expect suffering.

Yes, the laws of the harvest apply (if you sow, then you will reap) and there are principles of blessing that are true.

But here’s the stickler.

God is more concerned with the health of our heart, spirit and soul than he is the health of our body and bank account.

If going through pain, loss, hardship, or persecution will end up making us closer to Him, then He’ll allow it, and use it for His glory and our good.

It’s funny.  We read about Jesus’ life and all that he struggled through.  We read of the Apostle’s beatings and even deaths.  We know of the martyrs and the history of persecution in the church.

And yet..

When we feel the slightest pinch of discomfort, how often do we pull up our mental checklist to see if we’ve been reading our Bible, praying, and giving like we should?  Or at least attending church now and then.  Then we either pat ourselves on the back or resolve to fix things before stuff really goes bad so that we have our butts covered.

But if things continue to go downhill?  Oh, we’re angry. After all, didn’t we uphold our end of the agreement?  Is this what we deserve after doing the “right” things and being so “good”?  We rage against the unfairness of the situation.

And then we question if God is good.

Because, in our minds, a good God would save not only our soul, but our marriage, health, finances, relationships, mortgage and anything else we deem important.

We make up this meaning of who God should be.  We make an idol, and we worship it, then hate it when it fails us.

God is not a genie in a bottle.  He’s not a grandfather in the sky with pockets full of peppermint candy.  He’s not an angry, yelling father doling out punishments.

We can’t really understand suffering and trials and all the horrid stuff that happens in this life until we understand who God is.

And, who He isn’t.

Tags: Christianity, religion, spirituality

Earlier I introduced the idea that I often act as if I am an opponent to God’s grace.  I continued by writing about a common response to the concept of grace - Rejection.

I had mentioned that there were two common reactions to grace.  Another frequent response to grace is disbelief.  You may ask how rejection differs from disbelief.  They may sound similar, but they are completely opposite responses.  Let’s go back to rejection for a minute.

We reject grace when we want to believe there’s something good in ourselves.

There is something inside each of us that constantly demands recognition and accolade.  We like the thought that God was attracted to something in us.  Our hearts warm to the idea that it was due to our act of softening or heeding that causes us to be His.

I already discussed how this leads to a very warped and unbiblical idea of salvation.  It focuses on my works, standards, and acceptability; therefore making Jesus’ sacrifice of no value.  If Jesus’ death and resurrection are of no value, then why did he die?  Was it simply for himself, to show us an example or a way?  If that was the reason, and I only have to strive to be like Him, then what does it mean to take on his righteousness?  Why does the Bible say he died for our trespasses (sin) and raised for our justification? (Romans 4:25) If I am justified by my obedience (Romans 5:19) why do I need Christ’s justification through obedience?

If it’s a matter of my obedience to Jesus’ example, then I am an opponent of God’s grace.

So that’s rejection of grace.  Now for disbelief.

We disbelieve grace when we doubt God’s love for us.

Here is an excerpt from Part 1:  “As I understand that there was nothing, nothing, in me that God needed or was attracted to, I am filled with an inexpressible thankfulness to Him.  God the Father loves me as He loves Christ, since his righteousness is now mine. (John 17:23)  I can scarcely take it in!”

Do you get that?  God the Father loves you as He loves Christ!  And, Jesus loves me as he loves the Father! (John 15:9) Jesus himself said so.

When we get a glimpse of the depth of our sin, when we really see how ugly our hearts are, when we truly understand how dead we were… The fact of God’s love seems unbelievable.  Add to that the fact that God’s love is not just love as we know it here on earth.  It is unsurpassed, unconditional and unchanging.  The Bible mentions God’s unfailing love 32 times.  Psalm 136 is a whole chapter dedicated to God’s enduring love.

How could a perfect and just God find anything lovable in me?  How is it possible that the Almighty Creator of the Universe, the one who knows no beginning and no end, loves me?

Ephesians 2:4 answers this by saying God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

And 1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. v19 We love because he first loved us.

He loved even while I was completely dead, full of sin!  Ephesians 1:4 says God chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Christ Jesus, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

The fact is, there isn‘t anything in me that God could love.  It is through Christ that he loves me.  Jesus took my sin and the deserving wrath of God upon himself, and gave me his righteousness.  When God looks at me, he sees Jesus.

Can you take that in??

What this means is that his love isn’t based on my accomplishments or even obedience.  That seems really scandalous, but his love extends even to those of his who are rebellious. Psalm 107 describes how he chastises his children to draw them to repentance and freedom, all because of his steadfast love for them.

(I’m not talking about unbelievers (those who are not his children) or giving license to sin.  1 John and Romans 6 go more into that.)

If you are one of his, he loved you before the world was here.  He loved you before you were born.  He demonstrates his love for you constantly, through blessing, correction, guidance and so on.

The most evident proof of God’s love is the fact he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to be the atonement for your sins.  Can you imagine that?  I think I would die so that my child could live, but…

Can you imagine allowing your child to die so that a totally undeserving, terrible person could live?

Now, that is beyond comprehension. Yet, that’s exactly what God’s love spurred him to do.

So let’s step back and take a look.  God tells us in his Word that he loves us.  He demonstrated his love through the cross.  He continues to make it evident every day.

Can you see now how the sin of unbelief is so harmful?  It basically takes the entire story of creation, redemption and salvation and attempts to wipe it out, simply because we’re focusing selfishly on our shortcomings.

Whether we reject grace by erroneously trusting in our own righteousness or disbelieve grace by obsessing over our unrighteousness, both are in error because they assume the key somehow lies in our own merit.

Grace is scandalous.

Tags: Christianity, religion, spirituality

I previously shared how the concept of grace causes such mixed reactions.  As you think on it, what is your reaction?

There are several responses, but I want to concentrate on what I believe to be two of the most common.  The first reaction when confronted with grace is rejection.  After all, doesn’t embracing grace give license to sin?  Isn’t it silly and even wrong to think one could have a ‘free pass’ to heaven?

For most of my life, the concept of grace was foreign to me.  I read of it often in the Bible, but rarely spoke of it.  In my mind, it just didn’t seem to match with my understanding of God and how I related with him.  When I pictured God, he was a loving Creator who yearned to be my Father if only I would let him.  I imagined him looking down, holding out his hand, hoping that I would respond.  Choosing to follow him was a result of my own doing - softening my heart and heeding his call.  I pictured heaven and angels rejoicing over my decision to choose him over the temptations of the world and the desires of my flesh.

In my continuing walk with God, I focused mainly on my ability to walk worthy and be a better person.  There was a great fear of the uncertainty of life and the timing of Jesus’ return because I believed all had to be in perfect order for me to be accepted into heaven - sins acknowledged and repented for, an acceptable level of performance, a certain standard of behavior, and so on.

There are several things wrong with this view.  In the first place, it assumes that it is I who initiated the relationship.  It presupposes that there was something good and desirable in me that enabled me to overcome natural tendencies that others would not.

Further, through the great importance placed on my own strivings and personal abilities, I was basically making void the finished work of the cross.  In placing my trust in my sacrifices -  what I did or didn’t do, or how I did it - I was missing the true gospel story; that is, Jesus made the perfect, all-atoning sacrifice for me.  By thinking there must be further sacrifices made in relation to my level of worthiness, I was declaring his sacrifice to be insufficient.

The struggle to live a worthy life and to be a good example was a heavy burden in which I agonized over daily defeat.   The weight of insufficiency sometimes threatened to drown me, and I continually sought refuge in the misguided thought that at least I was doing some things right.  As I placed my confidence in how I did certain things or didn’t do other things, I managed to set up a false sense of security.  That, perhaps, was far more dangerous than the fear of never attaining perfection.

It says in Hebrews 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all].  And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:  But when Christ had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, sat down on the right hand of God;  For by a single offering he has perfected for all time them those who are being sanctified.

Paul answered the erroneous claim of those who scoff at grace in Romans 6. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 5:8 is just one of the many verses that lays to rest any claim I have to boast about when it comes to the part I had in my salvation.  But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. And I cannot forget Romans 3:11. None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.

As for the satisfaction I took in what I thought served to make me better in God’s view - Isaiah 64:6 But we are all like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags; and we all fade like a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.  Filthy rags can be translated as a polluted garment.  As a cloth diapering mom, I know full well the stench of a dirty diaper. That is how my good deeds and righteous works appear to a just, all-powerful God.

Yes, I still strive to have a closer walk with Jesus.  Yes, I recognize that I must daily sacrifice my will, and take up the cross.  Yes, I know that I need to continue to mature in my faith, produce fruit, and become more like Christ.

The difference is that by accepting grace as a reality and embracing it as fully as I can comprehend it, I walk with joy.  My confidence is placed in Christ’s finished work on the cross and the fulfillment of his resurrection.  The realization of the depth of grace repels me even more from the desire to sin.  I know that I can never walk worthy, not even close, but I am filled with an assurance that I am God’s through Christ, and that nothing can separate me from Him.  (Rom 8:39)  As I understand that there was nothing, nothing, in me that God needed or was attracted to, I am filled with an inexpressible thankfulness to Him.  God loves me as He loves Christ, since his righteousness is now mine. (John 17:23)  I can scarcely take it in!

Romans 5:17  If, because of one man’s (Adam’s) trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Grace.  I don’t understand it.  I can’t fully explain it.  But I am utterly and completely grateful for it.

Part Two is here.

Tags: Christianity, religion, spirituality

I’ve been thinking on this quite a bit lately.

There are many ways in which I could be an opponent of God’s grace.

1. Anytime I feel like I am doing something good or right that will therefore cause me to feel more worthy.
2. When I compare myself to those that are doing “worse” than me, and feel better about myself, my righteousness, and a little more deserving of God’s love for me.
3. When I compare myself to those that are doing “better” than me, and feel awful and undeserving of God’s love.
4. When I wallow in self-pity and depression, which is really a form of pride.
5. When I revel in my accomplishments to the point of taking full credit.
6. When I trust in perceived merit by focusing on works - being good, worthy, spiritual, obedient, etc.
7. Not truly believing in God’s steadfast love for me, even during times that I am rebellious or disobedient.
8. When, during times of trial, I’m wanting to know “why” or question God’s love and care for me.

There are plenty more, and I ‘m sure you could think of some of your own.  Feel free to do so in the comments!

So many times, I do the above things and then think “Ooops, I shouldn’t be heading this way”.

But it really takes on a whole new meaning when I understand that in doing so I am not only thinking erroneously, but I am, in fact, an opponent of God’s grace.

Mull on that for a minute.

I think often it’s easy to say, ‘Yes, I am forgiven and cleansed through the blood of Christ, and I fully trust in the atoning, finished work of Christ. I am saved by grace.”

And yet, every time I do any one of the above things I listed, my actions and thoughts are in contradiction to that statement.

Grace.

It is at once a beautiful, awesome word and a horrible, unbelievable word.

Beautiful and awesome - because I can know that grace is a gift, totally undeserved and freely given to me.  Hallelujah!  What unspeakable joy to think that God the Father sent the Son to die for me, when my sin and the justice of God dictated that I should indeed die and face eternal hell.  Jesus took my sins upon himself and paid the penalty.  Fully.

Horrible and unbelievable - because it goes against the inner, sinful desire to somehow believe that I am a good person.  Part of me likes to think that God saw something in me, a soft heart maybe, and yearned for me to call out to him.  It’s easy to want to believe this great lie!

I cannot wrap my mind around grace, because I tend to think of love in human terms and capabilities.  But God’s love and mercy cannot be compared to ours, and doing so is a grave disservice to who He is.

Part One is here.  Part Two is here.

Tags: Christianity, religion, spirituality, worldview

The other day I wrote about the difference between religion and the gospel.

I hate religion.

It has caused terrible misunderstandings, lists of impossible rules, cruelty, extreme guilt due to never being able to measure up, and on and on.  Tragedies of untold proportions.

But some of us love religion.

Believing that we can earn a ticket to heaven by doing certain things can give a false sense of security.  We think, hey, if I just do x, y, and z, I’m all good!  So we fill in our little checklist and then live life however the heck we want.   There is no need for real relationship with Christ that is evident by a transformed life.

Tags: Christianity, religion, spirituality

I recently witnessed a Christian being attacked for openly living out their faith because, as the accuser put it, the Christian had a wild past and had “practically invented sin.”

And there it is.  One of the most common misconceptions about Christianity.

There’s a frequent misunderstanding that those who are seeking to live Christ-like think they are better than other people, and make no mistakes.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.

A true Christian actually acknowledges that they goof up, hurt people, and offend often, because they are full of sin.  They understand that they are not good people and desperately need a Savior.

Bringing up their past is irrelevant, because they trust that there is now no condemnation since they have been forgiven and cleansed through the blood of Jesus.  If anything, a dark past only gives them a greater thankfulness for the saving mercy that they did not deserve but joyfully trust in.

And that is the Gospel.  That Jesus came to save sinners (and all Christians are sinners) by atoning for their sin through his own death and resurrection.

But you can’t blame people for not understanding the Gospel.  Because Christians are known for getting it mixed up themselves.

See, once one has received grace, which is totally unmerited, the natural inclination is to turn thankfulness into a checklist of service.  Oh, there is definitely some changes that occur when one is truly saved, as they become transformed.  A new person.  I’m not denying that.

What I’m talking about is confusing the Spirit’s fruits and resulting good works with our need to measure up.  We forget it’s impossible to measure up.  We forget that our even our righteous deeds are filthy, disgusting rags that God absolutely cannot accept.

We actually think we can please God in and of ourselves.

So we do ridiculous things to pass muster and then, unbelievably, start to think that everyone else should be doing them too.  We turn good convictions into law, even where God did not make law.  If I style my hair like this, or don’t wear that, or go to church here, or don’t meet there, or don’t drink that, or always do this, or never do that… and how on earth could they do this, and don’t they know they’re not supposed to do that?

And that is religion.  It is ugly.  It is more than ugly.  It is deadly.  It is the enemy of the Gospel.  Because it’s saying that Jesus’ perfect life and torturous, willing death, and miraculous life-giving resurrection isn’t enough. I also have to do a, b, and c and make sure that you also do x, y, z.

The Gospel is life.  Don’t confuse religion with the Gospel.  You not only risk misunderstanding why people who love Jesus also love talking about him, you also risk looking like an idiot as you tack your cute little rule list to the cross next to Jesus’ outstretched arms.

Tags: Christianity, religion, spirituality

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines religious as relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality.

Yesterday was a nationally recognized “religious” holiday.  Days like that tend to bring out the worst in us.

What I mean is, in one sense we are all religious, and depending on our traditions and worldview, days that are generally recognized to have significance attached to them cause us to react in a variety of ways, and mainly in ways that reveal our selfishness, pride, and perceived superiority to everyone else’s reaction.

By the looks of it, the majority of us engage in rituals of the worship of self by using the day as an excuse to indulge in frivolous outfits, meaningless customs, and lots of junk food.

Another large group of us, due to our religious mix of guilty-conscience-avoidance and peer-pressure make the rare effort to spend at least a portion of our day attending an organized gathering.

Then there are the fewer in number but no less religious group of us who scoff at the practices of the majority of religious people, supremely self righteous in our conviction that we are more holy because we don’t participate in their religious convictions.  (Never mind that we do cheerfully participate in the other oh-so-popular religious holiday, assuaging our shame by continuing to scoff any particular religious connotation to that day, too, except the practices in which we choose to participate in.)

Whew.

The other circle of us that are small in number but no less religious also scorns the belief systems of the majority of religious people.  We manifest our disagreement of religious beliefs by proclaiming our own set of religious beliefs, not realizing that through our acts of ridicule, we have become that which we disdain.

Thank goodness it’s not about us.

Whether our religious beliefs propelled us to wear pastels, hide plastic eggs, hang out with family, attend church, eat chocolate bunnies, give baskets to our children, advertise our lack of participation, extol the virtues of the goddess Eastre, or sit home and sulk, our religion is undeniable.

Whether you think this day should be set aside to remember a resurrection or not, we cannot escape that there was one who forever changed the course of history, and whose name is recognized across the globe.

My particular belief?

He alone wipes away any religious effort.  He alone is salvation and life.  This impacts every day and transforms who I am.

Tags: religion, spirituality, worldview

How does one be in the world, but not of it?  How does one bear the mark of Christ?  How does one be a light, a city on a hill?  How does one reach out to the lost?  How does one keep from stumbling a brother?

In the lives of those who believe in the saving blood of Jesus Christ, in other words, Christians, there is a vastness of opinions and convictions answering the above questions.

Some earmark verses that justify distancing themselves from society and especially any unbelievers.   Some of the more popular ones are; We are to be a separate people, one cannot serve two masters, and we are not of the world.

It’s true that it is all too easy to dissolve into the surroundings until there is no distinction between one’s biblical beliefs and the world’s standards.

Yet all too often the attempt to stand strong morphs into upholding some person’s idea as God’s standard of living.  One hears something, it sounds good, the speaker has a couple verses that seem to back up what they’re saying, and BAM! You have a “biblical” mandate.

Why is it so easy to do this?  I think its because its easier to stick to a list of don’ts than to live honestly within biblical principals.  There is that Pharisee in us that actually wants to add to the Bible, making convictions and principals into laws and mandates, because it controls our passions and tendencies.

Or maybe its because we love to love… ourselves.

It is true that we can learn a lot through others.  There is much to glean from those through the ages who have attempted in many ways to live out the Bible.  But what do we do? One Christian will uphold one and scoff at another, while a different Christian will reverse the order.  Why?  Because there is always something they did that justifies either copying their lives or rejecting them entirely.  The Pilgrims sailed the ocean so they could freely serve God.  They also drank alcohol.  As did Calvin.  Luther poked holes in the Church’s bubble, insisting on returning to what Scripture really said and upholding God’s grace.  He also questioned the book of James, since it says faith without works is dead.  C.S Lewis touches the lives of many through his writings even today.  He also smoked a pipe.  Charles Spurgeon has spurred other believers’ faith through his writings and sermons.  He also smoked cigars.

Perhaps they had it right, though.  They didn’t waste their energies defending what they most certainly would have to defend in this day.  They loved God with their whole hearts, and their lives were consumed with that passion.  But can you imagine them attempting to speak at or attend many churches today?  The shocked cries would drown out their message.  Because Christianity today often simply means “we do not do this” or “we do this.”

Where is Christ in all of this?  Where is the winebibber and friend of publicans and sinners?  (Yes, I left out glutton, since that seems to be acceptable now.  Drinking wine for communion is a stumbling block and offense, but how many potlucks have you been to recently that decide to forgo the desserts to help those struggling with weight or diet issues?   In my experience, the dessert table is twice as big.)

It must be possible to be a friend of unbelievers, since that is exactly what Jesus was.  Not what Jesus did.  Was.  Once again, he didn’t give us a list of do’s and don’ts that we could check off with our little red pens.  Just a principal, along with an example.  He lived it out.  It was his heart.

If we truly have a balance in how we live out our beliefs, some will think we are too religious and others will think we are a bit too worldly.  Jesus spoke some pretty harsh words of truth that some just couldn’t accept.  Not afraid to speak honestly and plainly, he was a threat to many.  Wasn’t he just a bit too strict about being the only way?  Sounds a little too Christian.  Oh, but others saw him eating and drinking with the untouchables, attending parties and breaking religious laws.  Wasn’t he just a bit too unholy?  Sounds a little worldly.

What speaks more loudly to people?  Is it my long list of don’ts?  Or is it the way I treat others through love and service, the love I have for the Word along with the sincerity to apply it, and the honesty with which I view my flaws and weaknesses?

Let us hold fast in faith and love so that we can encourage fellow believers.
AND let us put on our armor so that we can wine and dine with ‘publicans and sinners’.

Tags: Christianity, religion, spirituality, worldview

About a decade ago, we began changing our lifestyle, our diet and our homelife.

This wasn’t a fad, nor was it a result of some great new epiphany.  It wasn’t even really a single life-changing decision born from chasing a dream or seeing a vision.  No, nothing that interesting.  It was more like simply taking a series of small steps, that would lead us to yet another series of steps.

We were full partakers of the consumeristic mentality, grappling with children becoming school age, and on top of it all, we were both were experiencing health challenges to which conventional medicine gave unsatisfactory answers.

As we gathered information and began making changes, there were a couple of themes that seemed on the surface to be admirable and beneficial, but with further scrutiny proved to be defective and even dangerous.

One was the “self-sufficient” idea and other was the “separatist” idea.  They are connected, in that each holds the premise that a family should seek to be an island of sorts.

Self-sufficiency is lauded by many who seek to educate and inform those who are seeking a simpler lifestyle.  While looking for information regarding small farming, gardening, using less resources like electricity, water and just consumer goods, you will likely run into the whole mindset that it is preferred to have the ability to do it all yourself.  Make your own soap, grow all your own food, raise and butcher your own animals.  Basically, you should build, grow, repair, maintain and create everything yourself.

The other idea, separatism, is the idea that home should be a refuge.  The world “out there” was to be feared and rejected, while the family should keep themselves holed up in their fortress, safe within their sanctuary.

The problem is, we aren’t designed to do everything ourselves independent from others, and were sure weren’t created to be isolated.

Practically speaking, seeking to possess the skills to do everything on one’s own is not only ridiculous, it is a kind of twisted pride.  There is nothing holy about living in a vacuum, but there is great joy and wisdom in sharing skills with others while being blessed by theirs.

Further, while our homes should be the center of our lives in the sense that we value marriage and children, it is not the be-all and end-all.  While it is a source of productivity, it should not simply benefit family members.  The gifts we possess aren’t meant to be kept to ourselves.  Home is meant to have an 0utward effect.

As a wife and mother, I can attest to the harm that self-sufficiency and separatism can have on families, and particularly on young mothers.  All too often, the principle of “home” means that she disconnects herself from most outside relationships while spending her entire waking moments on her children and household tasks.  Add to this the burden of trying to live up to some homesteading ideal, and it isn’t long before she’s pushed to the end of her limits and beyond.

• Nurture and build relationships with encouraging friends.  Make time for them.  Pray with them.  Bear each other’s burdens.
• Find others who possess skills, resources, and knowledge you desire.  Barter, share and trade with them.  Join forces with them.
• Invite into your home people who hold different worldviews, lifestyle, religion, politics, etc.  Listen to what is on their hearts.  Learn why they believe what they believe.

Matt 5:14-16   You are the light of the world.   A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.   Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Rom 12:5-6   so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them

Gal 6:2   Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Tags: homelife, religion, simplicity, worldview