So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. (Galatians 5:1 NLT)
Every once in a while, I go with a group of friends to an entertainment complex that has an arcade. I love playing skee ball and whack-a-mole. There’s just something therapeutic about bopping those moles! Reminds me of the children’s song about Little Bunny Foo Foo, bopping field mice on the head.
All that is fun and games until we allow the same principal to land in our theology. How often do you vacillate from having a healthy fear of God to being afraid of Him? Do you think His love for you is based on whether you’ve been on your best behavior? Do you think He’s going to bop you on the head when (not if) you mess up? God is not a whack-a-mole God! He’s not out to get us! (We’ve got Him confused with our enemy—Satan, who seeks to sift us, devour us, destroy us.)
When I need reassurance that God isn’t a “Gotcha” God, I turn to Romans 8:1, which says, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Father, help me do what I do because I love You and not because I’m afraid of You.
God’s Grin Gal, Kathy Carlton Willis, shines the light on what holds you back so you can grow. Read her book, Grin with Grace, or find more information at: http://www.kathycarltonwillis.com.