Walking

"And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked." -John 5:9

I want to be like this guy.

When we accept that Jesus died for our sin, we also have to accept that He died for our guilt and shame--despised it, even (Hebrews 12:2).

A common theme in my life as a believer in the good news of Christ has been this: I know I'm healed, but I don't live like I'm healed, and I'm convinced, somehow, that I have to wallow in guilt for a sufficient amount of time before accepting that He forgets my sin--this is called legalism, and denies the sweet scandal of the gospel. In denying the offense of the gospel and its power in my life, I'm not believing that Jesus cast my sin and my shame away from me, that I am a daughter and no longer a slave, that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

This is like:

-the prodigal son refusing the kisses of his father, refusing the feast and the robe and the celebration, and instead saying, "No, dad. I'm going to work in the pig pen for a few years before I feel like I've earned the right to a party."

-a man who is in jail for rape. The judge, whose daughter was the victim, comes to tell him one day, "you're free to go," and the convict says, "I don't need you to tell me; I shined the bars, I made my bed, I swept the floor--I've decided I'm going to earn my way out."

-a child being convinced that he's supposed to continue "making mud pies in the slum," while his father has offered him a free and eternal holiday at sea.


Jesus isn't something you earn, He's Someone you receive. A relationship with Him is not a lifestyle, but a gift; not a to-do list, but an offer; not a sound teaching for all men to strive to mirror, but good news for men who simply cannot mirror the life of Christ.

God tells us, "You are what I say you are, and if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. I rejoice over you with singing, I have loved you with an everlasting love, I am free to delight in you because I have justified you; your sin was imputed to my Son, the Christ--legally, forensically, absolutely--and His righteousness is imputed to you. You are no longer defined by your wounds, but by the Son of the Most High God, who loved you and gave Himself for you. Your sins are like the morning mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you."



"Now Joshua was standing before the angel (Jesus!), clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, 'Remove the filthy garments from him.' And to him he said, 'Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.'"
-Zechariah 3:3-4

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."
-Isaiah 61:10

"Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
For your Maker is your husband,
the LORD of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called."
-Isaiah 54:4-5

"Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, 'Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?' I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' And he said to me, 'These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'"
-Revelation 7:13-14


Oh, sweetest truth I've ever heard!! I have gospel amnesia; I need this truth every moment of every day.