Taking a mind trip through my 55+ years as a Christian, I can’t recall a time when there wasn’t some kind of an “onus” on me. I fully realize that, indeed, the “onus(es)” may have been illusory, or even self-induced, but then again I’m not sure.It all depends on how one looks at things spiritual. I’ll try to explain.
Even though I was fully cognizant that salvation itself was a gift from God, I always felt that I had to hold up “my end of the bargain”.
In grade school, I couldn’t cheat because, even if I got away with it, God was watching. In high school, I needed to carry a Bible among my books “to be a witness”.
In college I needed to develop a solid apologetic for my faith so I could “defend the faith” (not surprisingly, often weakly). After I got married, it was important to “establish a Christian home”. At work, I needed to “act like a Christian” in a supposed effort to be “salt” in the world. After retiring, I needed to figure out how I could possibly still be of any use to God. And on it goes.
Note the (misplaced) emphasis was always on what I had to do.
In contrast, the Lutheran perspective, that my wife and I are richly discovering, maintains that it is the grace of God which frees us to live out our “call” or “vocation” (see last post). What?
Did you say the grace of God FREES us to just live? That’s indeed what Martin Luther – and other reformers – believed and practiced.
This fresh perspective may appear to be semantic or oversimplified. But to me it is revolutionary and liberating.
The emphasis is not on me or I or what I have to do. I am free to just live, with God as my center, in a world that he created and in which he continues to creatively involve himself (read Psalm 104).
I am part of his continuing creative work (as are you). Now, in a fresh way, I am free to immerse myself in it.
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