“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17).
Grace is the ability to effortlessly do something that is considered very difficult. The law brought in a list of difficult requirements, but in Christ is the ability to fulfill all these things effortlessly — without even trying or sweating it. Whether consciously or unconsciously, you are doing these things. Yes, those very things that others find very hard, you are doing them in your sleep. You do them because they are a part of you. In fact, they are who you are.
God is love (1John 4:7), he doesn’t need to struggle to demonstrate love. He does it effortlessly, because that is who he is. In Christ you are a new person. This new you enjoys God. You enjoy pursuing after God, you enjoy righteousness and hate iniquity. You cannot stand iniquity, that’s just who you are. You are not struggling to avoid sin because it naturally irritates you, and you find it repulsive. This is just who you are. You are simply being yourself, and just by being yourself you are fulfilling all the requirements of the law unconsciously. You are not even trying to fulfill the law, but you are fulfilling it each time you express yourself.
“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;” (Heb 1:9).
“Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.” (Jer 15:16).
“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psa 119:103).
“I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food.” (Job 23:12).
“Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34).
“In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psa 16:11).
You love pursuing after God. You are not doing it because you were told that you have to. You enjoy God so you pursue after him. Pleasure to you is being in the presence of God. It is so sweet that it’s addictive. You keep coming back for more. You love studying the word of God, searching out the Scripture. Each time you receive light it’s ecstatic. It is sweeter than honey, and you desire it more than any food. Doing the will of God is like food to you, it is sweet in your belly, and so satisfying. You treasure his word and obeying him your daily food, it refreshes you. So while you are busy enjoying yourself, you are effortlessly fulfilling all of God’s will. But the religious Christian is struggling to keep every single one of his religious obligations.
We ought to be awaken to who we truly are in Christ. But sadly we are mostly still caught up in the delusion of who we use to be. You keep telling yourself, “I love playing video games, I just enjoy it”, or, “there is nothing I love more than watching movies”, or, “I enjoy playing with friends, that’s my hobby”, or, “going to party is so much fun to me”, or etc. And then when you are supposed to pray or study the word, you look at it and say, “oh, these stuff are so difficult and boring, I just want to go do that other thing I enjoy”.
You are living in a delusion. Have you forgotten that you are already dead to that person you keep referring to? That person that loves movies and games and parties and playing. You are no longer that person. And now you must embrace the new you — the real you. Stop living in the delusion of the you that has passed away. Yes, old things have passed away, and you have become new. Stop running away from the real you. Embrace the new man in Christ. You may think his life is boring, but that’s a lie from the devil and the flesh to stop you from entering into the reality of your new life.
This is the most fulfilled life anyone can ever live. The life itself is pleasure. One who finds game pleasurable cannot play game forever. You cannot watch movies forever, you will have to stop at some point, and then that’s the end of the pleasure for you. But the life of the new man is pleasure in itself. It is joy everlasting, an unending pleasure. Everything he does is a means of drawing joy out of the well of salvation. Whether he is walking on a street or working a job, there is always this atmosphere of joy that engulfs his heart. He just cannot escape from it.
I am telling you this out of experience, for this is the life I live daily. There is this wind of pleasure that just blows in your heart every now and then. You will be in the middle of a serious lecture and it just blows. It floods your heart, and you cannot help but say, “oh you are so sweet Jesus”. In the middle of a tedious work, a boring day, a frustrating task, that wind is always coming unexpectedly. It comes over and over again like the waves of the sea. You are never far away from this pleasure. No matter how deep you are in whatever you are doing, it will just come, and you are reminded again how pleasant God is.
It may be in the middle of you being upset or offended. At that very height of you being annoyed and wanting to vent it all out, that wind comes again and you are like, “I just love you Lord Jesus”. It’s just crazy. That’s just the reality in Christ. The atmosphere of this new Land in Christ is packed with joy and pleasure. So why would anyone forgo it for something lesser. This world and this flesh has nothing to offer in comparison to what we have in Christ. You have to stop being deceived by the devil, and embrace the new you in Christ.