Romans 7:6

I went bowling recently, and I actually played pretty well! But no matter how good I thought I was doing, there were a few times I completely missed the mark. My ball went off the lane and into the gutter. It wasn't a good feeling knowing that I had messed up. But my kids had a completely different experience. Each time they would step up to the lane, the bumpers would pop out from the sides and guard the lane. They tried to throw the ball straight, but even if they made a mistake, the bumpers were there to provide grace. The analogy isn't perfect, but I compare this in some ways to the way we are set free under the new covenant. Yes, we should strive to stay perfectly in the center of the lane. But there are times we will inevitably go off course, and there we will find grace. Our freedom in Christ should guide us to live in a way that carries out the heart and intention of the law--that we show love to God and to others. Not because we have to, but because we get to!

PASSAGE: Romans 7:6 - "But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code."

PAUSE: The Gospel gives us a new way to live life. No longer do we live by rules but now we live by grace. The Gospel encourages us to walk by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have been released and set free to live a new life in Christ. 

PRAYER: Father, show me the new way to live. Forgive me for the times I try to live according to the rules instead of my new relationship with Your Spirit.