"Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question."
Acts 15:1-2
Have you ever noticed how, as humans, we are prone to wander from God? Our natural disposition is to try to fulfill our own desires, walk our own path, and do whatever feels convenient to our flesh. But, when I think about these verses, I notice that losing sight of paths of righteousness doesn't start with behavior… It starts with what we are allowing ourselves to receive from God.
When my heart feels out of step with the Lord, I often find myself needing to go back to the very beginning. Not with how well I am doing with my Bible reading, not with how often I am spending time in prayer (although those are very important things too), but I need to go back to simply reflecting on how much love and grace the Lord freely lavishes on me every day. This shift changes everything.
What would happen if you let God's gaze of love that is upon you at every moment be your "why" for everything you do? What if we stopped believing lies like those in Acts 15:1? Examples of these lies in modern day can be things like, "Unless you stay on top of your Bible reading, you cannot be saved. Unless you have everything together before you come to Jesus, you cannot be saved. Unless you never make a mistake or say the wrong thing, you cannot be saved". We could fill in the blank with so many conditions we attach to God's love for us. But, what if we had discipline in our faith because we knew that we are so unfathomably loved? What if we knew deep down that we actually don't have to earn love through behavior, performance, or even good things like discipline?
Take this as your challenge today and every day… dare to believe that you are more deeply loved by God than you could've ever imagined. Dare to believe it, and see all that God does in your life.