Can I be real with you for a minute? I don’t have my life together. I’m not “okay.”
I get mad. I mess up. I say things I regret.
But… that’s okay. At the end of the day, grace triumphs over my mistakes.
I know I’m not the only one who can feel this way sometimes.
I believe vulnerability brings freedom. So here are my confessions of grace:
#1 I am an un-gracious, grace-enthusiast
As a self-proclaimed “grace-enthusiast” I can be one of the most un-gracious guys around. I can be grumpy, irritated, and rude. I can be impatient, angry, and sarcastic.
It’s okay to be okay with not being okay!
Sadly, we have the habit of wearing masks. We wear masks to hide.
But the only way to freedom, is to throw away our masks.
If our Gospel creates masks, then we are not teaching the Gospel correctly. The Christian message is a message of freedom.
We are free from mask-wearing, faking perfection. We are free from performance.
People pleasing, God pleasing, and mask wearing has been the fruit of the Gospel for too long. It’s time for a Gospel that give freedom to be real, genuine, and vulnerable.
#2 Grace: permission not to be okay
We need permission not to be okay.
So here it is. You are allowed to fall apart. You are allowed to break down. You are allowed to not be okay, not to be happy, not to be “a good Christian.”
Not because we should be hard on ourselves, or expect failure. Rather, because vulnerability brings freedom and healing.
Be okay with not being okay. Sometimes that’s all it takes to get over being not okay.
Don’t put up walls. Don’t hide your true feelings. Because if you do, you will never experience the healing you need.
Vulnerability is healing. Holding pain inside, putting on a strong face, is only making things worse.
Yes, it’s scary to open up. It’s terrifying to be real.
But if we want freedom, real freedom, we must be vulnerable. We must be okay with being fully ourselves, even if who we are is not so nice. In order to be healed and free; we must be real, open, and vulnerable.
It’s okay to not be okay. You have permission.
#3 “My life” is an oxymoron
If you’re holding onto the end of your rope, here’s my advice: let go. You’re holding onto the wrong rope.
Your life is not your own.
“My life” is an oxymoron (a contradiction). There is nothing about your life that is yours.
You belong to God.
He holds you, guides you, and accepts you right now as you are. You’re very existence is a gift from God; a testimony to grace.
I am the most stressed out when I’m holding onto my life the hardest. When I get me focused, I loose sight of grace.
Grace means Jesus is the center of everything. He is the driving force behind all that I am and do.
I trust Him, therefore, by letting go of my life. If you’re trying to make your life work, that’s the problem. You can’t.
He can, and He will. It would be much better if you’d just loosen up on that death grip you have on your life and let Christ take care of everything.
Finding safety
May you be okay with not being okay.
May you give yourself permission to be vulnerable.
And ultimately, may you trust that your life belongs to Christ, and that He is pretty darn good at taking care of it.
There is safety in surrender. There is freedom in failure. There is hope for healing.
Jesus takes your life, imperfect as it is, and He makes it beautiful.
Let Him.
How does all this make you feel? What does it mean to be vulnerable? Let me know, comment below!
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