Thoughts on Walking into a Closed Door

Last night I thought I was helpful. My wife even thanked me for the "wisdom" I had dispensed on her behalf. Then it happened. I proved otherwise.

While grilling salmon outside on the deck I intended to go back inside to fetch something. In doing so I proceeded to walk into the glass slider door that was already closed. (Previously, I thought only dogs did that!) I smooshed my face and crunched my hand. I deposited my beverage all over the slider glass, and myself, nearly smashing my beverage container in the process. Epic fail. At that moment any self-applause I harbored in response to my previously dispensed "wisdom" was eliminated from the clutter in my brain. My wife is gracious. We had a good laugh. At my expense. Well deserved.

On another but related note, religious people are taught to believe that their most recent thought or action determines who they are, the status of their position or status in relation to God. (And if that's true, last night I positioned myself in God's eyes as the village idiot.) It's no wonder other people see religious people as dictated by a long list of "do's" and "don'ts." It's as if the goal of religious affiliation and activity is to become a "good person." Religion, therefore is viewed by our wider culture as being no more than a lifelong quest for "morality." Problem #1 is, one person's morality is someone else's immorality. Problem #2 is, no one is truly moral.

However, religion and the gospel are not the same thing. Religion is mankind's idea, while the gospel is God's. Religion says, "do the right things." The gospel says, "Done!"

How can that be?

My standing as a Christ-follower is not based on how well I adhere to the "do's and don'ts list." Good thing, since I'm just seconds away from my next epic fail. Instead, the gospel tells me that my standing isn't predicated on my behavior, it's based on Jesus' accomplishment. In what Martin Luther called the "Great Exchange" Jesus took my sin to the cross, and in exchange gave me his standing before God. Not based on what I do, but on what Jesus already did. This is undeserved; the very definition of grace.

Freedom for me is found in not having to please God for my worth, standing or future. He's already pleased with me solely because He's pleased with Jesus. I am now free to abandon my own false sense of propriety, my own conjectures of morality, and even my score on the "do's and don'ts list." I'm free to love and serve because I'm freed from having to earn and self-justify. I am freed from hoping other people will see me as wise, and freed to follow after the truly wise One.

Even when I'm attempting to walk through closed doors.