Some continue trying to do better, hoping
against hope for a breakthrough somewhere,
somehow.
Some simply give up. They feel there’s
nothing they can do about it, they’re condemned
to live in failure the rest of their lives.
Neither see their real problem, that
they’re living by law and works, instead of by
grace and faith.
Most have never been taught that, no matter
their failure, they’re “accepted in the
beloved.” The fact is, our good behavior can
never be enough to make us acceptable to God. We
can never be good enough. We can only be
acceptable in God’s eyes because of our place
in Christ. There it’s our glorious privilege
to live always “accepted in the beloved” in
spite of our imperfections.
Yes, we can live in our place in Christ,
comfortably at home in His perfect
righteousness. That perfect righteousness was
imputed to us, placed to our account, when we
first came to Him for forgiveness and salvation
from our sin. And it has been ours ever since.
We can live content, not with our sins and
imperfections, but with our place in Him and in
the quiet assurance “ . . . that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it
until the day of Jesus Christ.”
(Philippians 1:6)
While He’s slowly but certainly doing this good
work in us, we can rest content in our place in
Him. There we can be satisfied with His
righteousness, first placed to our account, then
slowly but certainly worked in our spirits and
out in our daily lives.
There we can rest quietly at ease in Him, while
we seek Him, worship Him, and wait quietly for
Him to be more our all day by day.
Hudson Taylor found the secret in “resting on
the faithful one.” So may you. So may I. The
only alternative is to depend on our own
self-righteous works and live in constant
disappointment and pain.
Praise God this is no longer necessary.
What joy! What freedom! What peace! What
release & rest!
Incredible as it may seem, in our place in Him,
His perfect righteousness is always ours,
and in it we may always rest . . . if we will.
--The Beginning
LoveLetter II
LoveLetter III