Good, but not great

For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. (Galatians 2:19-21 NLT)

When I tried to keep the law... Those words bespeak what a great many believe to be as the means by which they will 'get into heaven'. The law required US to do something, certain ways, at certain times, to get a certain result. Grace required Christ to do it all on our behalf because the 'something' we were or have been doing wasn't going to ever bring about the forgiveness of our sins.

The law condemns. It never really sets anyone free. We may try to be good, doing good stuff, thinking good thoughts, but goodness is far from perfect until Christ is the one who brings that goodness only grace can produce within our hearts. Our motives may be 'good', but our heart isn't until Christ changes it. It is time we all stop 'trying' to meet all the 'requirements' of the law, coming to the realization that this is just not possible in our own power.

We can 'do' and 'do' until the cows come home, but eventually all our 'trying' will tire us out and leave us totally unsatisfied. We will always fall short of what we hoped to accomplish by all that 'doing'. Our old self needed the cross more than we might have ever realized. We go no further than 'good works' until grace has done its work within us. It is no longer I, but Christ who lives within me. The most important aspect of that truth is the 'no longer I'. "I" could never accomplish what the cross did!

We live in earthly bodies, doing earthly things, but we are expected to make heavenly choices in these earthly bodies. We do so only by trusting Christ's presence within us to help us make better choices. We lean into him, seeking his character to come through. The more we lean into his character, the more we see our choices changing. The more grace is allowed to rule in our hearts, the less we will seek to find or make our own righteousness through our 'good works'. Just sayin!