October 2023
Do you ever feel like an impostor? I do. There are days when, as much as I want to appear confident and wise, deep down inside I feel like the six-year-old version of me in dress-up clothes.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an imposter as one who assumes a false identity or title for the purpose of deception. Having just returned from a wonderful weekend at the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, UT, I found it fascinating to watch the actors and actresses “become” their stage characters. For all practical purposes, these performers are, quite simply, imposters. Now, hold on, I do understand that performers take on theatre roles for entertainment and not evil, so calling them imposters is a bit harsh. But it did get me thinking about grace.
What?! How did I jump from imposters to grace?
Here’s the thing. I remember the old me and the sinful life I lived. I remember the brokenness of my past and, more often than not, I still feel unworthy of being called a child of God, a co-heir with Christ. I feel like an imposter. And then, to make myself feel better, I begin to concoct ways to earn His love. Earn God’s love? Nope. Impossible, that would negate grace. Grace is unmerited.
Grace is a free gift from God. We have been saved by God, from God, for God. Plain and simple. There is nothing we did or can do to earn God’s love. Jesus did it all. He came off His throne and became fully man and fully God. He lived a perfect life. He took our sin and shame to the cross and He died for us. He redeemed us. He gives us eternal life with Him.
Tom’s lesson, “Boasting only in Him,” from Galatians 6, unpacks God’s gift of grace in a powerful way.
Here’s the deal:
With God, we don’t have to perform. There are no lines to learn, no dress rehearsals, and no play-acting. We don’t need to clean ourselves up or prove our worth with superficial worship, perfect church attendance, or Christian-y things to display our godliness.
God does it all and His grace is sufficient. So, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)
You see, if Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you can’t possibly be an imposter. We don’t have to act or pretend. God has done it. All we need to do is simply rest in His love, being grateful for the grace He has bestowed on us while knowing that He is everything and we are nothing.
Friends – Thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement. As we look to the new year, we’ll need your help to keep Priority Living Arizona up and running. Would you consider making a gift at https://www.prioritylivingaz.org/donate? With your support, we’ll continue to share Tom’s lessons through PriorityLivingAZ.org.