Enough is Enough!!!

I recently saw the movie Seven Pounds. I’m not going to spoil the ending for you, but I do want to tell you a little about it. God used this movie to teach me more about Him and His love. The main character, Ben, is the cause of an accident that kills seven people. After the accident, he goes to great lengths to rid himself of the guilt he’s placed on himself. He deals with a huge amount of self-hatred and emotionally tortures himself in many ways. After watching this movie and reflecting on some of the things I’ve been reading this past week, I began to see what it is that God wants to teach me right now. Ben’s sin did take the lives of seven people and he experienced an insurmountable amount of guilt because of it. Wouldn’t anyone? Ben’s problem, however, was that he took the guilt of his sin into his own hands. He tried to atone for his sins by finding ways to “do good”. There are three lessons I got out of this. First, I can do nothing to jeopardize my unity with Christ: There is nothing I can do good enough to receive God’s forgiveness; there is nothing I can do bad enough to not receive God’s forgiveness. “Conditional love” is not in God’s vocabulary. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8 Second, I don't need to be consumed with guilt over the ways my sins have hurt others: I have struggled greatly with guilt and shame because of how my sins have hurt those that I love so very much. I have felt as if everyone should hate me and reject me. But I've recently discovered that Jesus already felt all of this for me. "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hid their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not." Isaiah 53:3 Third, I cannot atone for my sins. I have also felt that I am so “bad” that I tried to justify my sins by punishing myself. But, Jesus was already punished for my sin. "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5 The nail-pierced hands have not just saved me from hell, they have enabled me to be in relationship with Jesus. I cannot take my sin and put it into my own hands; I need to put them into the hands of Jesus. He has already felt the guilt and has already been pierced for my transgressions. So, why do I so often take it back into my own hands? Jesus is looking down at me saying,

“I’ve done enough for you, Ashley…and enough is enough!!”

Hide and Seek

I recall one childhood memory of playing Hide-and-Seek with my older brother. I was the "hider" and Andrew was the "seeker". As he began to count to 100, I hid in the secret room under our stairs. I was filled with excitement as I attempted to stump my brother. While I continued to wait for him, however, I became bored and tired. I'm not sure how long I waited in that little room, but each time he walked by that room, my excitement rose. I still had the chance to stump him; though, so I would not come out to reveal my hiding place. I eventually gave up and went to find Andy. When I walked into the back porch, he was watching television. I was shocked.

"Why aren't you looking for me?" I asked.

"You were under the stairs," he replied.

"Well why didn't you tell me to come out?" I demanded.

"I decided to wait for you to find me," he stated simply.

This traumatic experience truly hindered my social-emotional development. From that day on, I have never been able to play hide and seek without regressing back to that day. As I hid, I expected Andy to do everything in his power to seek me. When he never came, I felt rejected and abandoned. These feelings have stuck with me for years and I have never forgiven him!!! Okay, so it really wasn't that traumatic of an experience, but I do remember being angry that he didn't tell me to come out.

How often have I played Hide-and-Seek with Christ? I've often hid from Him and waited for Him to seek me. God does seek me with all of His heart. When I hide from Him though, He is not going to come into that room under the stairs and pull me out. He decided to wait for me to find Him.

"If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!"

John 8:36

When I found Him, He set me free; therefore, I am free indeed. Now I must learn how to

Treasure My Freedom in Christ!