Week 8

I can absolutely relate to Carey’s story.  Since I can remember, I have been taught that sin is something we should not do.  For the most part, this meant that I tried to rely on will power to overcome sin.  This of course has always left me feeling more frustrated and more like a failure than anything else.  It never worked to just try not to sin.  I guess I still fight this way of thinking.

“In Christ I am no longer to be defined by sin.  I have been reconciled.  Sin has been defeated.”  This breaks down the idea that sin defines who I am.  It helps me to see more clearly how God sees me.  I get that I need to not sin, but with that in mind, when I do I don’t have to buy into the lie God doesn’t want me anymore.  In my daily life this helps me to see that sin is something I might do, but sin is not who I am.  Who I am is a child of God.  This is a freeing way of thinking.  It releases the burden of carrying around the bad things I have done because I have attached them to my identity.  Instead it cuts those ties and reminds me that my identity is in Christ.  It creates more space to allow God’s love to change me instead of me trying to change me.