‘So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. ‘ Romans 8:1-5(NLT)
‘With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too. ‘ Romans 9:1-7(NLT)
Fear of exposure kept me in hiding for nearly two decades, but this only led to loneliness and isolation. I didn’t share my story—my mess of a past—with anyone, except a handful of close friends, until about eight years ago. That means from 1994, the year God pulled me off of the streets of Tacoma, to 2011, I lived in hiding. I presented an image to my friends, our neighbors, and our church family of who I wanted them to see, terrified that somehow they’d discover who I really was—who I believed I was. Though I belonged to Christ, had been redeemed and transformed, my fears of exposure revealed I hadn’t learned to rest in grace.
I was living as if I was still a child of darkness, one flashlight beam from discovery, when God had reformed me into a child of light. My fear of exposure kept me in isolation, but God’s love patiently, gently drew me out.
The more I understood His grace, the more I learned how to rest deeply in it, the more I realized I had no reason for shame and nothing to fear. He knew my worst regrets, the ugliest things I said and the most hurtful things I’d done, yet He loved me anyway. He was there watching every moment when I committed my most shameful sins, but not once did my moral failures turn Him away. Instead, they stirred Him to come close. They drove Him to the cross.
Today, I share many of those stories I once kept so deeply hidden and I do so with courage, with both feet firmly planted in grace, because I know I’m forgiven. I know I’m made new. The person I once was doesn’t exist anymore. I am now, and forever will be, a child of God.
~Jennifer Slattery
from Faith Over Fear