Let me explain....
I have just finished reading a book entitled, "Grace Walk" by Steve McVey and I am immediately going to read it again. I barely can describe for you how enjoyable this book has been to read and how transformational I feel it to be. McVey challenges his readers, two-thirds the way through the book, to alienate the value system, but not morality or living an intentional life. What he does say is that, "focusing on a value system is not God's intended way for you to live" (110). To share McVey's summary reasoning:
**"An obsession with right and wrong makes people self-conscious instead of God-conscious"
**"An obsession with right and wrong emphasizes human values instead of godly virtues."
**"An obsession with right and wrong stresses the law of instead life."
I have discovered through reading McVey's work, meeting with a mentor and studying The Jesus Creed, being removed from my understood context, and processing my relationship with God that I HAVE worked too hard. I am tired, confused, and less-than-what-I-wanted-to-be. But I have found freedom and am discovering how to live in the freedom of God's Grace.
Rather than try to articulate for myself what it is that I have learned and understood, I am just going to mark down some quotes from this book. I pray that you would read the book, but then draw your attention to the AUTHOR of THE Book.
"God doesn't determine identity by behavior, but by birth" (44)
"You are not just a sinner saved by grace. You are a saint who has the life of Christ at the center of your being. A sinner saved by grace spends his time on the defensive against Satan. Someone who knows he is a saint goes on the offensive" (49)
"You may not feel that your sin nature is dead, but God says that it is. This in no way means that you will live a life of sinless perfection. It does mean that it is not your nature to live a life of habitual sin anymore. The conflict between flesh and spirit will exist as long as you are in this world" (65)
"God wants you to absolutely yield yourself to Him, allowing Christ not only to live in your body, but to express his life through you" (74)
"The Spirit is the core of one's being, and at the Spirit level the believer was made righteous" (91)
"To walk after the flesh simply means to live a lifestyle that does not rely on Christ as its Source" (92)
"An intimate relationship with Him will produce a godly lifestyle. A focus on behavior will not create intimacy with God or a godly lifestyle" (105)
"When we fail to abide in Christ, sin is not the root of the problem, but the symptom. The real issue is that we are living out of our self-sufficiency independently of Christ" (108)
"Disappointment is the result of an unfulfilled expectation. God isn't capable of disappointment, since He already knows how we will respond in every situation" (127)
"The Christian abides in Christ, chooses to obey His commandments, and then acts in faith" (131)
"Christians need to give as much credit to God's ability to lead as they give to the ability of Satan to mislead" (146)
"Forgiveness is a necessary but secondary step toward the main goal, which is to receive and experience Divine Life!" (157)
"Conviction of sin is God's love in action toward His erring children, drawing our affection and devotion back toward the Father. In the process, we abandon the sins that plagued us" (162)
This book has been one of those things that the Holy Spirit used to enlighten me to exactly what it is I needed to hear. You'll probably hear a lot of other different things if you choose to read it.
What I know is that I am giving up the expectations I have of myself. I am done accepting the condemnation of the enemy. I am done trying to figure out what it is I should do when I grow up. I am done striving. I am done. Period. Instead, I am going to, "rest inwardly while He works outwardly through us" (174). And I am going to walk and live in grace as I abide in the Gracious Jesus Christ.
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