Christ in me is freedom – Page 3 – Paul Nordman

Freely Giving What We Cannot Buy

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:10, 11 (NIV)

What was it again that the angels brought to the shepherds that first Christmas Eve? New sandals? New staffs? New robes? No, they brought none of these, not even a t-shirt to commemorate the occasion. To the shepherds, the angels unveiled something of far greater value than anything money could buy—the Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord, the One promised through the ages and now with us for eternity.

Two thousand years later, we still celebrate Christmas by giving and receiving gifts. It can be a season of surprise and joy, and it can just as easily be a time of disappointment, such as when we can’t afford to buy what we want to give or when our gift goes unappreciated. But have you ever noticed that the best gifts we ever receive are the intangible ones that touch us inside? They show up as acts of kindness and expressions of goodness, and they often come when we most need them and least expect them. It’s the genuine smile igniting in our heart the warm glow that spreads, in turn, across our own face. It’s the beautiful tone of the encouraging word that sets our soul to song. It may be the unexpected deed of a stranger or the dependable help of a neighbor that restores our depleted supply of hope. Like the announcement of the angels, these acts of love cannot be bought, but only given; they are free, yet also priceless.

There is something curious, yet consistent, about these intangible gifts of the soul: we cannot contain them; they overflow from the inside out, and we eagerly give them away almost as quickly as we receive them. Isn’t it true, for instance, that we love others most freely when someone has done something loving for us? Don’t we give most generously after someone else has first selflessly given to us? Aren’t we most inclined to offer encouragement when we’ve been uplifted by the affirming words of another? And when are we ever more forgiving than when someone has forgiven us for our own mistakes?

This is the gift of Christmas. Jesus, the Son of God, came to take upon Himself the punishment for all our sins; He loves us that much. God calls us to draw near to Him and to live life in His presence with confidence and joy; He forgives us that much. When we trust in His forgiveness of us—and in His love for us—we are free to flourish in life, free of guilt, free of shame, free of fear; we are encouraged. And as we experience in ourselves the love, forgiveness, and confidence we receive from God, it is then that we freely give these same priceless gifts to others who journey this life with us and all around us. There is nothing people need more than these, and it costs us nothing to give them.

This Christmas, enjoy the meal, and enjoy the gifts, including the most valuable ones—the ones we cannot see, yet treasure the most.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christ in me is freedom.

Of Halos and Humility

Watching my brother get into trouble with our mother was always great spectator sport for me. Two years his junior, I would smugly look on as Eric squirmed a bit under the microscope of scrutiny in Mom’s court of correction. If I could “help” her make her point, I was more than willing to step up and serve the family in this crucial way. (After all, doesn’t the world need more moralizers?) Occasionally, however, I’d say too much and expose my own culpability, at which point Mom would look at me with her little “you-just-stepped-in-it-buddy” grin and say in a slightly lilting tone, “Paul, your halo slipped.”

It was deserved. What is it about us that loves to load the law onto the backs of others? We did it as children; we do it as adults. We did it as non-believers, and, sadly, we do it as believers, even though we’ve been set free from the power of the law and its shackles of shame. This is nothing new: the apostle Peter addressed the issue before the church council in Jerusalem two thousand years ago, “Why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?”¹ Why, indeed? So, we receive pardon from our penalties, then referee others from the rule book? There’s something wrong with this; it’s not what forgiveness and freedom are all about.

Is it still important that people under grace live in the ways that are good and right? Absolutely, and the power to do so lies in liberty, not law. “Freedom is not the permission to do what we like but the power to do what we should,”² observed British historian, Lord Acton (paraphrased here by Os Guinness). We who deserved judgment have received mercy; we who were guilty have received pardon. We who had no right standing before God have been credited with the righteousness of Christ, and we who had no hope live fully and forever in Him. When we renew our minds and think on these eternal realities, what can possibly flow from us but endless gratitude to God and boundless grace toward others?

What happens then inside of us? Judgement fades, and encouragement flows. Blame and accusation of others give way to prayer and petition for them. And the confession of our own sins supplants our condemnation of the sins of others. We tend to our own little “halo” of grace, and celebrate the beauty of theirs.

Thanks, Mom, for the gentle correction. Nice halo, Eric.

God, help me always to remember how the reach of your grace extended to the depth of my sin. May my freedom in you yield understanding, mercy, and care toward others. In the name of Christ, I pray. Amen.

Christ in me is freedom.

[Click here to read today’s Scripture in Acts 15:6-11.]

¹ Acts 15:10
² Guinness, Os. A Free People’s Suicide: Sustainable Freedom and the American Future. InterVarsity Press. Downers Grove, Illinois. 2012.