A few months ago I stood in the yard of a home I had hoped to purchase. Three bedroom brick home that sat on over an acre. Huge back yard, a garden plot, tool sheds, a double garage, a screened in back porch, a deck, and plenty of distance between me and the neighbors.  As I stood there, I asked God, “Could I really have something this nice?”  Up until this point in my life we had always rented, but Derek and I were ready to settle down into the place where God called us, a place we lovingly call our “There”. I stood there a moment, looking over the property with hope in my heart and heard my Father say to me, “Honey, you can have all things!” With that, I purposed in my heart, whether it was this house or another house, we were buying a home! Our first home! After leaving the property I went home and looked it up on-line for a virtual tour. The price was right, the exterior was right; but the interior was not. It was dated! Green glass tile bathrooms, pine knot wooden walls; everything about this house screamed OLD! I could almost smell mildew and dust through the screen of my Ipad. I told myself, and Derek, we could fix it up and make it nice. But in my heart I knew that really wasn’t what we wanted. Derek and I agreed that we should continue looking. With a promise in my heart from my Father, we continued to look. For days when I would get off of work Derek and I would drive, and dream. Bouncing from street to street, neighborhood to neighborhood looking for our home.  Eventually, we found “the one”. It was better! Everything we had looked for! Built on an acre lot with an updated interior, in a nice private neighborhood, close to town and close to Elijah’s school! (And the price was much cheaper than the prior) we made the house our new home.

I drove by the old house the other day. The one where God made His promise to me. I looked at it and thought, “I sure loved that house! The outside was so nice”. Then it occurred to me; the outside is usually what attracts us to things. The way things look to us. Our spouses, the color of clothes, the way the body of our car is built. Something about the outside always attracts us. It isn’t until we take a look under the hood of the car, take time get to know someone, or try on our clothes that we can determine if it is something that is truly right for us. As I meditated on that thought, something else occurred to me. The same is true for the Law. We love the law, because on the outside, it looks real good! If I can keep all 10 of these commandments and walk perfectly, then I will achieve the goal of going to heaven and be with Jesus. Jesus being the ultimate goal, we wander around aimlessly wondering if we will ever measure up and be good enough for Him. But if we look beyond the exterior of the Law, we see it is messed up. We see that it is impossible to keep the law and earn His grace and favor. When we realize that the Law is dated, and look beyond the surface and take time to see what He really has for us is something greater, we will see Grace. Grace has an awesome exterior! It draws us in with love; nothing we did brought us into Grace. Grace just existed. We can’t polish the law and make it look like Grace. We can’t remodel the law; Hebrews 8:6-9 says there is a new plan! The old covenant has been thrown away! We have a new covenant established on better promises!! Just like that old house that I tried to make myself love; the old covenant will try to make you love God to receive all His goodness and all His benefits; but if you will see through past the old covenant you will realize it’s dated, and there is too much work to be done; you will see through until you finally realize that Jesus came and established a new convenant. One where He already loves you, and gives you all things already because of who He is and what He has done! Rest in Jesus. Rest in His grace. Rest in the finished work of the cross!