Unscrewed...

Our first home. We were engaged to be married when we bought this house and this was moving day! We loved everything about our humble abode. Well, almost everything. Right behind this adorable, young, kid-free, rested couple was a screen door with bars. I e-hotted that door. That's 'hated' in Pig-Latin... since "hate" is a bad word at our house. We have learned to disguise the word 'hate.' Although I'm pretty sure we're not fooling one of the stud-muffins. Anyway... the door bugged me. I didn't like the aesthetics of it. To me, it gave the appearance that we were scared and lived in a bad neighborhood. We had every intention of getting a new screen door... but for whatever reason, we never got around to it. I guess it gave me something to complain about.

After three years, we decided to move to Florida and it was time to put the house up for sale. Of course, that ugly door had to be changed to improve the curb-appeal. Although we would never enjoy the jail-free look, it was the right thing to do. Low and behold... when I was examining the door before we left to buy a new one... I noticed that the bars on the screen door could simply be unscrewed, leaving a nice glass, bar-free door. In just a couple of minutes, the bars were removed.

Recently, God reminded me of that ugly door. I thought about how I lived with it for three long years when it only took moments to unscrew. Isn't that a picture of God's grace? When we come to him with years of bondage, he can unscrew our screwed-up mess in one breath of forgiveness. I was then confronted with the question of what ugly door I was currently living with. For me, it's been a door of guilt. I carry guilt with me over things big and small. I analyze conversations I have with everyone and usually find someway to feel guilty over something I said or didn't say.

But, I received the greatest revelation concerning guilt. When we feel guilty after Christ has already forgiven us... we are trying to PAY for our sins. Whenever we do something really stupid... we know that eventually, we will get over it. But how long is long enough to feel guilty? One hour? Two days? Three years? Is there any amount of time that will pay for our debt? The truth is that Christ died and paid for it ALL! Living with guilt is like the door that can simply be unscrewed.

In Romans 8, the Word says..."Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus." This means that Jesus does not want us to live with guilt for one second!!! It doesn't mean we should lead a sloppy life and do whatever we please. But, it does mean that God knew us, he formed us and he was aware of our mistakes long before we were ever here. He wants us to come to him, ask for forgiveness, have the screws removed and move forward. John 10:10 says He desires for us to ENJOY our life. So, I have decided that I will no longer feel guilty because he died so that I may ENJOY my life. What ugly door can you let him unscrew for you today?

More on Monday!!! :)