“…But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5: 20-21

S-T-R-E-T-C-H!

The day they invented women’s jeans with spandex was the day I shouted, “Thanks be to God!” Talk about a marriage of fiber and fabric; this is revolutionary! Finally, we can move freely without that binding feeling of regular denim. Whew…

And now, hang onto your leggings, I just discovered the greatest thing since sliced bread—stretchy buckle-belts that look just like regular belts. No kidding! Now no one else will know that you’re stretching so freely after that extra delicious lunch—oh, could it get any better?

And hey, spandex has now hit men’s jeans too; I tried to get my husband to try some, but he wasn’t going for it. Apparently, he likes his jeans sturdy and unyielding. Well, to each his own.

I like to think of God’s grace as a bit like spandex jeans—a huge, and I mean HUGE, improvement over the original law that was given. We can move freely and at peace with God, entering his Holy Presence by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus. We don’t have to cower and beg, but “…come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15). Praise be to God! What glorious freedom this is!

But is all this freedom a license to sin? Absolutely not; just like spandex, it has its limits! I have some old stretched-out jeans that have definitely lost it! Their “span” of expansion has definitely expired, never to return! Eventually, if we keep pushing the envelope as they say, there will be consequences far worse than stretched-out jeans. How much better it is to live within God’s holy guidelines!

Sometimes I catch myself falling back under the mindset of rigid laws and regulations. I start feeling like I can’t possibly live this Christian life and want to give up. Some sort of weight has been put on my shoulders that I wasn’t ever meant to carry. In *My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers says the devil twists us up, with an “… idea of holiness beyond what flesh and blood could ever bear; it is a spiritual acrobatic performance, (where) you are just poised and dare not move; but when God elevates you by His grace into the heavenly places, instead of finding a pinnacle to cling to, you find a great tableland where it is easy to move.” Amen! I’m all for that “easy moving” part, (especially at the table!), aren’t you?

“Oh, Lord Jesus, help us recognize the enemy’s ploy to keep us out of that place of freedom. Let us bask under Your tender wings of love and cling to Your holiness, not our own. Thank You Lord, for Your grace!”

*Chambers, Oswald. The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers: My Utmost for His Highest ; Selections for the Year. (March 27). New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1935.