“Conform.” “Conform.” “Just conform,” He shouted.
He was exasperated. I was confused.
Could he not see, I was trying. Could he not see, I was desperately seeking to understand and follow confusing rules.
Dad was 30. I was 10. That scene described our relationship. He put down the rules. I tried to follow them.
But, it was not his fault. It was the way our Christian culture of the early ’60’s worked. We followed rules. We did the right thing. We did what our culture expected.
Imagine my surprise and relief when, years later, I found these verses:
For freedom, Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery. Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace! (Gal 5:1-4 NET)
Following rules that made no sense always felt like a yoke. The Bible says the same thing. It calls the pressure to follow rules a yoke of slavery.
But, the most surprising of all was the last part. It says if you are trying to gain God’s favor by following rules, you have fallen away from grace!”
That was so different from what I had always heard from the Christian culture I grew up in. I heard about an uncle who was drunk again. “He has fallen from grace.” I heard about the girl in high school who was pregnant. “She has fallen from grace.”
But, the Bible says something entirely different. It says, “You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace!”
Did you know that. Does it make a difference in your understanding of the Bible. It did for me.
My Thoughts 