today i caught myself praying,
"Lord, show us a balance between discipline and grace."
but i had to stop myself and take it back. this is what i'm thinking:
grace and discipline are both divine things, good gifts that the Lord gives us.
i don't want one to balance out the other.
i want to live in fullness of both.
i'm thinking that one does not take away from the other, but that it is possible to live in grace and forgiveness 100% of the time, but to also be 100% disciplined and self-controlled.
so if i'm disciplining myself hardcore, sacrificing all kinds of worldly pleasures, and resisting sin to the point of shedding blood, there might not necessarily be a need for someone to remind me, "grace." the fact that i'm so self-controlled does not mean that i am ungracious. perhaps the one reminding me is more accurately bringing to my mind, "laziness."
at the other end of the spectrum, if i am eternally forgiving, and never get under condemnation for mistakes, it doesn't necessarily mean that i need people to constantly remind me, "discipline." maybe all that i hear when they say that is, "legalism."
personally-- i tend toward discipline, but i struggle with grace.
the Lord is teaching me heaps about receiving His forgiveness, and not depending on my own goodness, but only on His.
still--
in this journey of learning about grace, i don't want to sacrifice an ounce of discipline. it is not going to be one or the other.
i am grateful that He is constantly reminding me of His compassion and His unfailing love. but i will not go back on my duties.
if you find that you struggle with legalism-- the answer is not removing disciplines from your life-- the answer is revelation of His grace.
if you find that you struggle with laziness-- the answer is not bogging yourself down with a burden of trying to save your own soul-- the answer is self-control.
does this all make sense to you?
this is all coming out of a place of brokenness in my own life. i am pressing in to greater self-discipline-- and concurrently the Lord is teaching me to receive His forgiveness. it's a surefire combination.
4 comments:
Great thoughts. You've got a great writing style. Please email me. I have a question for you.
Thanks!
Curtiss_Hartley@usn.salvationarmy.org
love ya blogs, they quite often challenge me.
Keep them up
God bless you abundantly.
Lux
yep.. this makes perfect sense.
The big problem is that we often missue the word balance... what we really mean when we say it is 'settle' and that is the enemy sister.... never SETTLE for less than fullness... not only would your mother be sad but Jesus wouldn't be to keen on it either.
He has MORE than we could ask or imagine of both grace and discipline...
I kind of liken Grace to the road we walk on and disciple to the walk itself sometimes... but it's a bit like trying to explain the Matrix or the Trinity - it's a supernatural sort of thing...
anyway, I'm all for your take.
Be a grace hog (I'll always be a bigger one though!)
and be a disciplined maniac (I'm working on passing you here too!!) :-)
Steve would probably add in a competition while we are at it... I'd just say let's celebrate our unbalance together (in a fully graceful disciplined manner of course!).
gracipline.
Danielle
Liv --
Great blog -- your contrasting discipline and grace with the competing voices of laziness and legalism . . . excellent! I laughed outloud at the Truth of it, and the directness. nice : )
Yes and amen to the "fullness of both"! How could I resist? I couldn't.
Fullness
jm
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