We've been discussing in our LFMC Life Groups recently how
we shouldn't live with a sin consciousness. I shared a couple of illustrations
last night and I haven't been able to get it off my mind. If you live focused
on sin, like I was taught growing up, you feel like you're always breaking a
rule. Then God has to punish you. That's not how He wants us to live. I read an
illustration in book a few weeks ago that really put in into perspective for
me. If you step off a cliff and fall to the bottom of the canyon, are you
breaking the law of gravity? Think about that. You're not breaking a law, but
you are illustrating it. So God looks at you at the bottom of the canyon
saying, "What are you doing down there? Here, let me help you up." He
is not punishing you, you just felt the consequence of your own action.
Spiritual laws work the same as natural laws. You will reap what you sow.
That's why He encourages us not to sin, because He knows the effect sin has on
us. In our immaturity we step off the cliff without understanding what's
coming. After we've felt the effects, we learn to put boundaries up and steer
away from the edge. In Galatians 3:23-25 it refers to the law as our
schoolmaster, or our tutor. As we learn the cause and effect of spiritual laws,
it teaches us. But it also refers to a higher way now that "faith has
come." It's good to set boundaries and learn to steer away from those
things that have the gravity effect on us and pull us down. But if that's where
we stop in our growth, we're falling short of the higher potential. Romans
8:1-2 says, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of
sin and of death." I remember a sermon I heard Pastor Bob
Petersen preach a long time ago. He referred to the law of sin as death as the
law of gravity and the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus as the law of
lift. We can't deny the effects of sin, but we can learn to fly. Let's use
addiction for an example. As you are becoming clean and learning the effects of
the drugs, alcohol, pornography, etc... you have to draw healthy boundaries so
you won't end up at the bottom of the canyon. You may have to choose to not go
to the bar, or stay away from certain friends, or stay off of social media. But
there comes a time, through the law of lift, or the law of the spirit of life
in Christ Jesus, that you can fly right above the canyon without feeling the
effects of gravity. You now have complete freedom and can go back to places and
friends and reach them through your testimony. Isn't God amazing? Even though
His thoughts and ways are higher than ours, we can access them through our
perfect born again spirit. Freedom is calling us! May we all find our
wings!
