Life is a Blessing

Life is a Blessing Embracing Grace

By Tracy McCoy

As I mature and continue to get to know God, I love him all the more. When I first came to know Him, I was just a little girl so in my immature mind He was really big with white hair, and if you weren’t good He would be really mad. I tried to follow all of the rules and do as I was told in Sunday School. I prayed prayers like “Now I send Jesus to die if it were not enough. The blood of Christ can

lay me down….” and “God is good, God is great...”. That is all I knew.

As I grew and was exposed to the world a bit more I figured out it was going to be real hard for me to keep from making God mad. I knew that there was mischief in me and that circumstances in my life had put me in some very hard places. I made many poor decisions and because of those and the thoughts that God was probably very angry with me I hid from him like Adam and Eve. I still loved him but didn’t want to face me and still adores me. His loving kindness, grace and mercy

Him and was afraid of His wrath. I spent a decade running in the wrong direction. When I thought of God and longed to be close to Him, I felt shame. Shame leads to many destructive feelings that keep us bound.

I spent much of my life thinking He was far away, thinking I had to earn His love. I thought that if I went to church that God would reward me by keeping me safe, always trying to make a deal with God. “If you will…then I will.” At seven years old I knew Jesus died for my sins and rose again, but I didn’t understand what that meant. Grace was foreign to me. I heard all of the don’ts and dos and thought the whole thing depended on me. “He loves you, BUT… “ always seemed to enter the conversation. Just when the concept of grace would try to take root I was reminded by some well meaning Christian that I needed to do right and follow the rules. It took and EVERYTHING to do with Jesus. Love is at the core of the gospel and the law is what points me to Him. You see God knew that you and I would need someone to step up and take on our sin, Jesus was His son and the solution to the sin problem.

You can’t have it both ways, either grace is grace or Jesus died in vain and we are all in serious trouble. Why would God cover the most vile sinner and all sin is vile in the eyes of God. The cross did not free us to sin, it set us free to live for Jesus. To live happy lives and to enjoy a relationship with God. He is so much more than Sunday morning. He is the God of the Universe and He wants to know you personally. Jesus is the way to the Father and the best friend you’ll ever have.

Today God is a Daddy to me, He is not just a man in a book. He is not a mean dictator that is trying to catch me doing something wrong. He isn’t a building or a set of rules. He is not a world view or a lifestyle. God knows everything about almost half a century before I got it; it has zero to do with me

are hard for me to grasp, sometimes I still hear that voice that says it’s up to me. He sent one who was perfect to fix my imperfections and a comforter to guide me. When God looks at me, He sees Jesus and He loves me as His child.

I am completely a work in progress as I learn more and unlearn the legalism that was a stumbling block in my faith journey. I want to embrace grace, show kindness and love to others. I want to please Him, not out of fear but because I love and I respect my Father. The day will come when I meet Him face to face and my heart will forever sing!