Living in Sunday

I have been going to counseling at The Barnabas Center for ten months now.  A defining moment for me was when my counselor pointed out my fear of living under “the law,” or what I thought had to do, and it was immobilizing me.  I was caught in fear and the fear of failure.  I believed the lie that if I get everything right, then I will be good enough: a good enough mom, a good enough wife, a good enough friend.  I was trying to be perfect.  I believed the Gospel that Jesus paid my way, but I felt stuck and my sin felt overwhelming.

But God, as He does, gently showed me that my view of the Gospel was incomplete.  I was living in the burden of what Christ had yet to go through for my sake.  I was living with Jesus still hanging there on the cross.  I was living as though Jesus was still in dead in the tomb with no hope.  I was living in Friday and Saturday.  I was not living in Resurrection Sunday.

The truth of the Gospel is, it’s always Sunday.  The completed work of Jesus is in Sunday, where He is alive and well, and so am I.  I am not stuck in Friday where He is still paying for my sins.  I am not in Saturday where there is no hope.  It’s Sunday, and I am free, I am forgiven, and I am His.  Nothing I do (or don’t do) will change where I stand before God.

Now, there is great importance in recognizing our sin and seeing the death of Jesus as our payment.  There is also great importance in believing we have no hope apart from Him.  But we cannot live there.  We are not meant to.  We are to rest in the knowledge that even when we sin again—which we will—our standing with Jesus is permanent, fixed, unwavering, and unchanging.  That is where I want to live every day.  That is where Jesus intercedes for me even when I am l accused, guilty, or condemned.  So while I look back on what Jesus has done for me, I need to fix my eyes on where He is now: alive for my sake.  This is where I can repent and not be crushed.

So here is the question: Which day are you living in?  It’s okay if you have forgotten.  I forget often, but there is grace for that, too.  It’s Tuesday, but live as though it’s Sunday because you can.  If you claim the hope of Christ, Sunday is where you can rest every day.

Brittany received her B.S. in Apparel Merchandising with a Minor in Business from East Carolina University. She previously worked at Barnabas on the development team and now works part-time for Hope Community Church in Events.  Brittany has been married to Daniel for a number of years.  And when she is not enjoying time with her family, she likes writing about her home renovations and life with twins on her Facebook page The Stiling Haven.